Databases and journals
When researching for an assessment, there are several ways you can find and access peer-reviewed journal articles. We recommend searching within key speech pathology journals and health databases to find the most relevant scholarly information.
Tip
Need help searching the databases? There are instructions for searching the Library Databases in the Search strategies and tips - How to use Library Databases section of this guide.
Databases
Database are collections of academic journals within a subject area. They help you find reliable, peer-reviewed research on specific topics, using advanced search options like combining keywords and search filters. Explore the following databases to find high-quality, up-to-date research:
Databases on the Ebscohost platform:
- Medline CompleteMEDLINE Complete is the largest health database. It includes a vast array of journals and publications covering speech, language, and communication disorders.
- APA PsycInfoAPA PsycInfo includes journal articles and book chapters in psychology and behavioural science disciplines, including information on the psychological aspects of communication disorders, cognitive processes related to speech and language, and behavioral interventions.
- CINAHL CompleteCINAHL Complete is a comprehensive source of nursing and allied health journals, including journals related to communication, linguistics, and speech-language pathology.
- Rehabilitation Reference CenterRehabilitation Reference Center (RRC) provides therapists and students with the best available evidence for their information needs in the areas of: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and more.
- ERIC (Ebsco)ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) is primarily an education database. It covers educational aspects of speech and language development, such as interventions in school settings.
- AMED Allied and Complementary MedicineAMED, produced by the British Library Health Care Information Service, is for physicians, therapists, medical researchers and clinicians looking for information regarding alternative treatments to conventional medicine.
Databases on other platforms:
- EmbaseEmbase is a comprehensive biomedical and pharmacological database that covers language sciences, audiology, and speech pathology
- Health Collection (Informit)The Health Collection includes research articles, reports and case studies of practical support to anyone studying or working in therapeutic, diagnostic and preventative health roles.
- Health & Medical Collection (ProQuest)Health & Medical Collection covers all major clinical and healthcare disciplines including clinical and biomedical topics, consumer health, health administration, immunology, pharmacy and pharmacology, nursing, physical fitness and hygiene and surgery.
A feature of AustLit, is BlackWords, which provides access to a vast record of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and their publications. This database will help you find research to develop your cultural competence, understand language variations, and consider the broader social and cultural contexts that influence communication in Indigenous communities.
Tip
To find peer-reviewed articles in databases, look for filters like 'peer-reviewed' or 'academic journals' after you search. Some databases, like Medline Complete, only include peer-reviewed content, but others let you apply this filter to refine your results.
Citation index databases:
Scopus and Web of Science are multidisciplinary databases that provide citation data. They help you to:
- Identify highly cited papers in your research area of interest
- Track how ideas and research has evolved over time
- Find more recent papers that have cited a key study
- ScopusScopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources, covering Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences. This database includes some links to external full text articles.
- Web of ScienceThe Web of Science interface includes Web of Science Core Collections including the Arts & humanities citation index, Conference Proceedings Citation Indexes, Current Chemical Reactions and Book Citation Indexes and also hosts the following databases: Current Contents Connect, Biosis Citation Index (1926-2016), SciELO citation index, MEDLINE and Zoological record.
Journals
While databases let you search across many journals at once, you can also search directly within specific Speech Pathology journals. When searching within a journal, keep your searches simple—you don’t need to search for “speech pathology” as a concept if the whole journal is focused on that subject.
So, when is it okay to use Google Scholar?
Google Scholar is a powerful search engine for accessing a wide range of scholarly literature, including journal articles, theses, books, and conference papers. While it offers broad coverage, it's important to understand its strengths and limitations.
When to use Google Scholar
- For initial exploration of a topic - this can help you decide on a research topic and find potential keywords for your database searches
- When searching for grey literature not indexed in traditional databases
- To track citations and identify influential papers in a field using the "Cited by" feature
Limitations
- It does not distinguish between peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources
- The algorithm may bias your results based on various factors
- Coverage can be inconsistent, especially for older publications
- Quality of sources varies widely, so it is less reliable for high-quality information
Tip
Connect your Google Scholar with Deakin Library to enable the Find it @ Deakin button to appear in your search results, giving you direct access to full-text articles.
Ask the Library for help
Not having any luck with your searching? Or found a fabulous resource but can't get access to it? Get in touch with Library Chat for troubleshooting.