Senior: 11 & 12: Unit 1: Thermal, Nuclear & Electrical Physics

1. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.

2.  Use a Boolean command - put double inverted commas around phrases to limit and improve your results eg "energy drinks cardiovascular problems children". 

3. Use a Google domain command eg site:edu OR site:gov to limit results to a CERTAIN DOMAIN such as education or government eg biodiesel site:edu

4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3-4 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

• Figures and Tables for In-Text References 
  APA 7 STYLE

Zotero can be set to the same Harvard AGPS (Australia) style that CiteAce uses, called 'Melbourne Polytechnic - Harvard'. Please read the instructions carefully.

Any issues - see your Library Staff

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Library can now be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

An American website that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases about science.

Breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the Internet.

Google Scholar is an academic website mainly aimed at Universities and Research Institutions.  It does provide some full-text articles which can be accessed by the link placed on the right-hand side of the screen.  All other articles are citations only, which are available in some of the larger Academic subscription databases. 

TIP: To get PDFs only, type in 'filetype:pdf' after your search terms. It's great - you will get full-text sources this way!

Basic Search Tips
OR
AND
~ (synonym)
“…” (exact match)
– (excludes a word)​​

Check the quality of your websites using these criteria (adapted from QUT Library):

Currency: Timeliness of the information

• When was the information published, posted or last updated?

• Is the information current for your topic and field of study? How recent does it have to be? Can older sources work just as well?

Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs

• Is the information appropriate for a senior secondary course?

• Is this an adequately in-depth examination or a quick summary of the topic?

• Who's the intended audience? Is it the general public, a student, a researcher or industry?

• Is the level of information too basic or too advanced for your needs?

Authority: Source of the information

• Is the author/authoring body (individual person, or institution, or organisation) established and reputable?

• Are their qualifications, credentials, expertise, experience, educational background and previous work (if any) relevant and do they add credibility to the source?

• Has the piece been published by a well-known and respected publisher or organisation?

• Do references to other sources support the writing ie is a Reference List provided?

Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the information

• Where does the information come from, and is it supported by evidence?

• Does it have a Reference List or Bibliography so you can easily find and verify the sources used?

• Are there any spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: Reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written?

• Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial?

• Is the viewpoint of the author's affiliation/ sponsors reflected in the message or content?

• Does the author acknowledge alternative versions of the issues or facts?

Purpose: Reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written?

• Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial?

From Mrs Allen:

1.       START EARLY

2.       ASSIGNMENT BREAKDOWN
          a.       First 10% - General Reading (This is where your ideas are shaped, read 3-6 sources of VARIETY)
          b.       10% - 40/50% - Active Notetaking (This is where you collect & collate evidence & info)
          c.       40-50% - 80% - Organisation of Ideas (This is where you construct the structure of your essay,  and allocate the number of words for  each part).
          d.       80% - 100% - Writing (This is where you write the assignment as streamlined as possible)

Research Assignment Template - Mrs D.Allen

Claim: Natural shampoos are better than synthetic shampoos.

Research Question: Are natural shampoos better cleaners than synthetic shampoos based on the properties of surface tension, wetting time, solid content, detergency and foaming ability?

Physics Exemplar from QCAA
CLAIM: The dream of almost limitless clean energy from nuclear fusion is close to being realised. 
RESEARCH QUESTION: Is the Tokamak Energy nuclear fusion power generation technique able to be considered as clean.

You can see the entire Proquest Ebook Central Catalogue of 500,000 resources by entering your search term in the box above.  You may browse any title for 5 minutes, and if it's one we don't already own, it will say 'request this book from your library', which means you can email the Library to ask us to purchase it if you like it, or simply rent it for a day so you can quickly take the notes you need during that day.

SIGN IN WITH YOUR STUDENT NUMBER AS YOUR USERNAME.

We will attend to your request as quickly as possible!