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

Claims and Resources For Them

eBook

Cover Art Disconnect: The Truth about Mobile Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It and How to Protect Your Family 

Publication Date: 2011

As research scientists are now demonstrating, mobile-phone radiation can damage the human body's cells - leading to memory loss, an increased risk of cancer, reduced sperm counts, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and possibly even autism. Mobile phones, it seems, are not as safe as we had supposed. In this riveting expose, Dr Devra Davis, respected epidemiologist and founding director of the toxicology and environmental studies board at the United States National Academy of Sciences, clearly outlines the dangers posed by mobile-phone radiation.

eBook

Cover ArtNuclear Power: Nuclear Fission Reactors 

Publication Date: 2011
Provides a detailed analysis of nuclear fission reactors.
NOTE: Check out the chapter: Environmental advantages, disadvantages and economics.

Ebsco 'Research Starter' database: Nuclear Fission

'Global Issues in Context' database provides an overview of following Topics under 'Science & Technology'

Cover Art Ebook: Nuclear Power - Fusion 

Publication Date: 2012

Explores the big bang of creation to the blackout death of worn-out stars. A brief history of fusion research, beginning with the first tentative theories in the early 20th century, is also discussed, as well as the race for fusion power.

The Science Research Assignment: Some Tips

Advanced Web Searching Tips

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.

MyBib Referencing Generator - APA 7 Style

Manage your bibliography using "MyBib" - Referencing - LibGuides at Melbourne High School

MyBib is an online referencing generator to help you with in text references and your List of References.

NOTE: 

  • Sign up for an account so that it will store the references for your assignment. Add it to your bookmark bar to find it quickly.
  • Install the Chrome extension to make your referencing even faster.
  • Make sure everything in your Reference List has a corresponding In-Text citation in the body of your essay.

How to Create In-Text References for Figures and Tables

Zotero Online Referencing Tool

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

Exemplars from QCAA of Research Assignments for Science

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.

Pearson Physics Text - Examples of Forming a Question

OneSearch

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.

Useful Databases

 Science Direct 

Please only download an article if you read the abstract (summary) first, and think it will be useful to you. We only have 50 downloads in our yearly subscription.

Request the Library to purchase an Ebook for your assignment!

Ebook Central
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!

QUT C.R.A.A.P. Test for Evaluating Websites

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?

Science Template for Writing Research Assignments

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

Exemplar Claim and Research Question

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?

Writing the Rationale

Data Sets

Useful Journals

Useful Academic Science Websites

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

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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') undefined 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!