An Introduction to Research Skills

Most assignments will require you to support the discussion with relevant research. Ultimately what this means is that we expect you to provide an informed opinion, not just an opinion.

What is research?

Research for university study purposes is generally the investigation to establish facts and reach conclusions.

Once you have analysed your assignment task you can start finding information and reading on the topic.

Start with the set textbooks and assigned readings for background information, then move on to researching more specific sources you can access through the .

Research resources

Information can come from different sources and the type of information you need will change depending on the assignment you are working on. The Southern Cross University library staff are always happy to answer any questions you may have about finding information for your assignments.

Books and eBooks image

The Library catalogue shows all the books and ebooks in the library collections.

Audio and visual resources image

Find what you need by searching for CDs, DVDs and streaming media through the Library catalogue.

Journals and newspapers image

You might need to find a number of articles to answer your assignment, and you don't know what journal they might come from. Start your search in a database.

Databases image

Southern Cross University subscribes to many online databases to support learning and research. These can be searched to find articles from journals, newspapers or other information sources.

LibGuides image

LibGuides list key resources and information by subject. LibGuides are useful to get you started when researching topics. You will find LibGuides tailored for your course.

Your librarian image

Your librarian can help to find the resources you need to succeed. Librarians are available for appointments.

Note: If you're unable to use this tool, ensure that in your browser. Alternatively, switch to viewing this site in another browser, such as Google Chrome. To access a text version of the above information, .

The importance of referencing

Referencing or citing, is an essential component of academic writing as it acknowledges the sources of information you have used to complete your assignments. It is a method used to acknowledge when ideas, information, data, examples, images or words from the work of others are included in your academic writing. There are guides and tools to assist you with referencing and of course your librarian is available as well.

There are different types of referencing, including APA and Harvard referencing styles. Check with your faculty which style they use. An example using the APA style to include a book source is as follows:

In text

Mayer (2010) claims that in practice this is not the case. OR In practice many physicians are not practicing evidence-based medicine all the time (Mayer, 2010).

Reference list

Mayer, D. (2010). Essential evidence-based medicine (2nd ed). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press

Referencing is critical to maintain academic integrity.

What help is available?

The Southern Cross University Library is committed to supporting all students to ensure that they have the research skills necessary to undertake their study or research.

Using the library

Cottingham, Papua New Guinea, postgraduate student

One of my assignments required me to do some research so I came across to the Library and went onto one of the computers in the Library and thought I could do my research online and I struggled because information I needed I couldn’t find and I spent a lot of time wasted, almost two hours, just going through and browsing and not getting anywhere.

Eventually I approached the librarians at the Library’s front desk and they told me the simple and easy way and they directed me and showed me where I could go to. I found all these databases which the Library maintained and if I had come straight away instead of wasting two hours going through by myself I would have found that I could have easily found my information quickly.

Laura, Australia, undergraduate student

When I got my first assignment I read through the assignment details on the Unit Information Guide and it explained to me the style that I needed to use was the Harvard referencing style but I needed a bit of extra help finding the information for the reference so I went to see the Library staff and they took me through step by step finding the different information and took me through it personally, which really helped.

Marc, Australia, undergraduate student

I received an assessment and I was really worried because I didn’t know the subject very well so my first point of call was to go up the help desk in the Library and ask the Library assistants if they knew anything that could help me, and it worked out really well because the Library assistants were like “well there’s these text books that we just received just the other week” and they took me to the area and showed me the text books I might need and I ended up with five references that really influenced my assignment and I got really good marks for that, so worked out really well.

Library staff

The Library staff are always happy to answer any questions you might have about finding information for your assignments. Just come to the counter and ask for help.

How to access support

Whether you're studying online or at any of our campuses, you can always access help when it comes to researching for your assignment. Let us show you how to get started.

On-campus support

Contact your librarian or make an appointment if you would like a consultation in person or by phone.

1800 659 460library@scu.edu.auBook Appointment

Support for online students

Contact your librarian or make an appointment if you would like a consultation in person or by phone. Online students in Australia have access to free mail-out and return postage of borrowed items.

1800 659 460library@scu.edu.auBook Appointment

Return to Toolkit

Top TipsPlease ask for help. Persist with searches. Be creative in how you search. Ask yourself: is the information Relevant, Reliable and Recent? Use Turnitin or SafeAssign to avoid plagiarism and check your assignment for originality before submitting.