1. Discover information types
At university, you need to use a range of scholarly information. Explore the different information types we have shared below. For your assessments, always look at the assessment resources for guidance on specific information types that may be required.
Understanding types of information
Figuring out what information you need relies on understanding the scope of your question and the type of information that will be useful. As a Deakin student you have access to a wealth of resources through Deakin Library.
Click the buttons below to read more about different types of information resources.
What are peer reviewed journal articles?
Watch the video below to learn about the peer review process and how to identify academic articles. Want to know more? Check out the peer review guide.
What is a database?
A database is an online collection of resources. Each database often focuses on a specialised area. For example, some databases may be discipline-specific such as a scientific database. Others may focus on a certain type of resource such as journal articles, videos, newspapers or images.
There isn’t one database which has everything, so it’s important to search multiple databases to find the most relevant information.
Article:
An author writes an article and submits it to a journal.
Journal:
Journals review and publish selected articles.
Database:
You can access journal articles in a database.
What are the benefits of library databases?
Click on the flipcards to discover the benefits of using library databases.
How do I use the Library databases?
You can access the Library databases through the A-Z Database Guide (try filtering by subject area!) or use the suggested databases in the 'Resource Recommendations' section of this guide.
Searching a database is a little different to searching Google. You will need to use some specific techniques to retrieve relevant and suitable content and it's always a good idea to plan out your search strategy before you start using the databases.