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Mount Sion iCentre: Research

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Credible Websites

Learn With Smithsonian: Fun Stuff For Kids and Teens

National Library of Australia collects and organises a vast array of Australian content including: books, images, historic newspapers, maps, music, archives and more.

Kidcyber provides information on a wide range of topics like sports, space, technology, and inventions. Have a look!

Search our digital video library anytime and from anywhere. The collection is curated by ATC library staff and teachers. It is organised into subject and topic folders to make finding relevant video resources easy.

Note Taking: Cornell Method

ATC style guide suggests using the Cornell method to record your notes. Watch this guide to help you practice this method.

 

Cornell Notes

Top Tips for Note-taking

  • •Write clearly- can you read back what you have written?
  • •Use a new page for each topic
  • •Add a date to the top of each page with a suitable heading
  • •Keep some blank space for any new information you find
  • •Rule a line through errors
  • •Use abbreviations (shorthand) – as long as you can decode what you’ve written!


Some Common Abbreviations

  • between = btwn 
  • because = b/c
  • versus = vs. 
  • with = with
  • without = w/o
  • that is = i.e
  • example = e.g.
  • approximately = approx
  • number = no.
  • established = est.
  • minimum = min
  • miscellaneous = misc

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Primary sources are first-hand accounts at the time of an event. 
e.g. news reports, podcasts, diaries, census and statistics.
Secondary sources are second-hand accounts of an event or topic. 
e.g. journal articles, textbooks, newspaper articles and books.
Tertiary sources combine primary and secondary sources. 
e.g. fact books, almanacs, dictionaries and encyclopaedias.

 

Databases

A database is an online collection of electronic journal and newspaper articles, research papers and much more. Most databases offer Advanced Search functions, so you can use your search strategy.

You will find peer-reviewed and scholarly journal articles in databases.
 

Websites

Because it is easy for anyone to publish anything on a website, you need to find websites that contain reliable information.

Websites with these domains (the URL ending) generally have reliable information:

  • .org (a registered organisation)
  • .edu (an educational institution)
  • .gov (a government agency)
  • .gov.au (an Australian government agency)

Websites with .com or .net. are not unreliable, but they should be used with caution.

In Google's Advanced Search, you can limit your searches by domain.

You still need to evaluate any information you find (see Step 5) no matter what source you use.

Evaluating Sources

It is easy to find lots of information when you are searching, but this does not mean that it is quality information.

QUALITY is better than QUANTITY

You need to evaluate any information you find to ensure it is accurate, relevant, and good quality. There are 5 criteria you need to consider:


Authority

  • Who is the author? Are they an expert in their field and the topic?
  • Have they been cited by other authors?
  • Have they written other articles/books?
  • Who is the publisher?
  • Is the web page hosted on a reputable web site?
    e.g. educational website (.edu), government website (.gov)

Currency

  • When was the article/book published?
  • Is the publication date right for your need?
  • Do you need current or historical information?
  • How old is the information cited in the article/book?

Content

  • Is the information relevant to your topic?
  • Is the target audience appropriate?
  • Is it written in an academic or scholarly language?  Do you have to concentrate to understand it?
  • Is the information fact, spoof or satirical?

Accuracy

  • Can information be verified for accuracy in other sources?
  • Have other experts in the field reviewed this information?
  • Have other websites you trust linked to this website?

Bias

  • Is the author associated with an organisation with a clear bias on the topic?
  • Is the research sponsored by an organisation?
  • Is the author trying to sell or push a product or service?
  • Do other authors agree with the author's point of view?

Search Engines Other Than Google

 BING - Bing carries that same clean user experience to video, making it the go-to source for video search without a YouTube bias.

YANDEX – Russian, turkey, Ukraine

CC Search - CC Search should be your first stop on the hunt for nearly any type of copyright-free content.

Swisscows – Family friendly, privacy first

DuckDuckGo- Doesn’t collect of store any of your personal information

OneSearch - Verizon Media launched its privacy-focused search engine, OneSearch, in January 2020

Wiki.com – perfect for those who appreciate community-led information as found on sites like Wikipedia

 

Databases

You can access a variety of subscription databases from our library. Databases allow you to access citations, links and downloads.

Don't know how to log into a database or other resource? Check out this page for the password!