According to the QCAA Syllabus glossary, a claim is an assertion made without any accompanying evidence to support it.
Databases
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Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web.
Databases
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Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web.
eBook
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Databases
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Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web.
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 QCAA website has exemplars of the sorts of research assignments you need to produce. First is a Physics exemplar, but as well, even though you may not study Chemistry or Biology, we've added the examples QCAA gives for them, as the requirements are very similar, and they might help you understand what you need to do!
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.
Chemistry Exemplar from QCAA
CLAIM: Natural shampoos are better than synthetic shampoos.
RESEARCH QUESTION: Are natural shampoos better cleaners than synthetic shampoos based on surface tension, wetting time, solid content, detergency and foaming ability?
Biology Exemplar from QCAA
CLAIM: Human evolution is still occurring.
RESEARCH QUESTION: Is the prevalence of hypolactasia (lactose intolerance) in Finland linked to the practice of domesticating cattle for dairy purposes?
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.
Databases
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Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web
eBook
Issues Databases can provide arguments
for and against a claim
'Global Issues in Context' provides an overview of following Topics under 'Science & Technology'
'Australia and New Zealand Points of View' provides excellent arguments for and against Nuclear Power
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Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web.
eBook
__________________________________________________
Databases
_________________________________________________
Websites
Please remember to use your Advanced Search
techniques when searching on the Web.
You can see the entire EBL Catalogue of 500,000 resources by entering your search term HERE. You may browse any title for 5 minutes, and if it's one we don't already own, it will say 'Available on request', which means you have to ask us to purchase it if you like it.
Click on the title of your choice, and you can see under 'Availability' that you can click on 'request this book', and an email will be sent to the BBC Library staff who can organise purchase for you. In the email message, please tell us if you only require the book for a day or so, and we can simply rent it so you can quickly take the notes you need.
Please note that some of these eBooks are very expensive (this is a university-level database), so that will have to be taken into account!
TYPE YOUR SEARCH TERM IN THE SEARCH BOX
THEN SIGN IN WITH YOUR STUDENT NUMBER AS YOUR USERNAME
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)
Google Books can be very frustrating because often much of the book is missing and you are expected to purchase it to read the full content. So after you put in your search term you are interested in (eg biodiesel), and get some results up, you should then go immediately to the search box (on the left - above 'About this box') and type in a particular word or term you are interested in (eg CO2 emissions) you should get a number of pages pop up. Choose one that looks useful - you should get some good results this way!
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 the Boolean command to put double inverted commas around phrases to limit and improve your results eg "energy drinks problems".
2. Use a Google command to limit results to a CERTAIN DOMAIN
eg ethanol site:gov
3. To check the authority of a website when it is not clear who the author / authority is, go to the end of the URL in the Google search box, cut back to the first forward slash (/) and hit 'Enter'. This will take you to the Home Page of the website, and you can see the full name of the source.
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 years would be sufficient for a recent search.
Currency: Timeliness of the information
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Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs
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Authority: Source of the information
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Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the information
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Purpose: Reason the information exists
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