Biology

USING THIS GUIDE

Use this guide to support you in accessing information and research for your Year 11 Preliminary Biology - Depth Study. Try searching:

1. eResources (e.g Science Reference Centre, Secondary Explora, EBSCOHost databases)

2. Google Scholar

3. Alternative search engines

4. Metasearch engines

5. Subject directories

6. Government websites and other science websites

Before you start searching, brainstorm keywords and construct different searches (see detailed instructions in this guide). 

Brainstorming keywords and constructing searches

When starting your research, put together a list of key terms and subjects/topics to construct some initial searches to use in the databases and online:

1. Brainstorm some initial keywords (these will be drawn from the inquiry question you have developed, they may come from the assessment task and your understanding what you are required to investigate, and from your classroom discussions and what you have been learning about in Biology).

2. Brainstorm some synonyms (so that you have some alternative search terms readily available if your keywords are not producing good search results for you).

Developing your search terms to obtain better search results 

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t immediately find what you are looking for. This is part of the research process and it requires you to be a detective and a thinker. Part of the process is working out how to search for what you are looking for. Here’s a couple of strategies you could try if you are not getting results from your initial searches:

1. Broaden your search - Think about changing your search terms. If you’re not getting results, maybe you need to broaden your search before you search for specific terms. Think about what your inquiry question relates to and what other areas you could explore. Once you have done this and found information, then you can start to narrow your search by adding key terms to narrow your results.

2. Use synonyms - search for synonyms that might provide you with alternative search terms to try searching with.

3. Subject terms - look at the subject terms that come up in a journal database search. These may provide you with extra terms to search with as well as identify the other areas of knowledge your topic is associated with.

4. Ask a librarian - if you still can’t find what you are looking for, don’t hesitate to ask the library staff for help. 

A word of caution about key word searching 

Before entering your keyword search, think carefully about your choice of keywords. Unlike searching the library catalogue by subject headings, where resources that are related to one another by subject matter are grouped together, keyword searching can return a wide range of results (some of which may be relevant but others not). You have to be prepared to spend some time refining your keywords, reviewing your results, trying different combinations of keywords, identifying synonyms that can be interchanged with other words, and repeating this process until you find the most relevant, useful articles for your research. In other words, don’t expect to obtain perfect results on your first search. To successfully use online databases, you need to spend time investigating, analysing and evaluating the results of your search and then repeating this process again, and possibly many times over as you uncover and gain a deeper understanding of your project as you go through this process. Research is not a linear process but may involve you exploring information in many different directions. Patience and perseverance is required!

TIP: Use Boolean search operators to expand and narrow your search

Understanding and learning how to search using Boolean techniques will help you search online databases and the internet more effectively. See below for helpful tips on Boolean searching and a short video introduction. 

TIPS FOR IMPROVING KEYWORD SEARCHING:

Use Boolean search terms

Here’s a simple introduction to the basics of Boolean searching. Boolean searching allows you to formulate searches where 2 or more terms are used. It helps you to search more effectively and efficiently.

Þ      OR: The use of “or” will broaden your search. For example, searching for information on “solar energy” or “solar power” will return results where either or both keywords appear.

Þ      AND: The use of “and” will limit your search. For example, searching for information on “whales” and “Australia” will only return results where both keywords are used.

Þ      NOT: The use of “not” can be used to exclude information. For example, searching for information on “whales” and “sharks” not “Pacific Ocean” will return results in articles where both the terms whales and sharks appear but exclude any results where the term Pacific Ocean also appears.

Use Quotation marks

Þ      Use quotation marks if you need to keep terms together. For example, “cane toads” will search for articles where this term appears together. If you simply searched cane toads without the use of quotation marks, you would obtain results with articles with the word “cane” or “toads” in them but not necessarily together.

Use Truncation

Þ      Another useful tip is the use of the asterisk (*) to truncate your search term. If you would like to know how to use this please ask Mrs Sylaprany for assistance.

WEBSITES

The following websites may be helpful:

1. ABC Science 

2. Academia

3. Australian Government 

4. Explore CSIRO 

5. SBS Science 

6. Science.gov (recommended)

7. Science Daily 

8. National Geographic 

9. Nature (recommended)

WEBSITE DIRECTORIES

Website directories can be helpful when you wish to browse for information on a particular topic. Using a web directory will allow you to 'drill' down into the information by topic. Here are a few web directories to explore:

• Best of the Web

• Virtual Learning Resources Center

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Google Scholar can be a way to locate relevant journal articles and research. However, please be aware that many journals will not be available for free. To access them, you may either need to pay for the article or login through an institution (such as a library) that subscribes to the database. You can use the details of the article (title, author, doi) you are interested in to check if the EBSCOHost database provides access to the article. Alternatively, see Mrs Sylaprany for further assistance.

ALTERNATIVE SEARCH ENGINES TO GOOGLE

Google is an incredible search engine and the amount of information it allows you to access is truly amazing. However, it is not the ONLY search engine available, and it is highly recommended that you complement your internet research with other search engines. You could try:

• DuckDuckGo

• WolframAlpha

• Ecosia

APA REFERENCING

Get help with referencing for your assignment, especially in-text citations. Click here.  

MORE HELP IS AVAILABLE -

CEDP LIBRARIES HELP SITE: DISCOVERING INFORMATION