The Research Process
Use the Research Process: Plan > Search and Discover > Evaluate > Reference when approaching research for an assignment topic.
The following guidance can be found in each step of the Research Process:
Understand
Shows you where to begin and will provide you with the foundational knowledge of the step.
Explore
Encourages a deeper dive into the process for a better understanding of what is involved.
Apply
Will provide you with some concrete ideas of what you can do to integrate what you've learnt before progressing to the next step or finalising the process.
Look for:
Tips throughout the process; and
Links to resources and support for developing additional skills.
Understand
Important considerations in the planning process
- What is expected of you?
- How much information do you need?
- What sort of information is required (e.g. scholarly, industry, general, statistics, etc)?
Useful Tips
Check the unit content, unit guide and project outline for expectations.
Ask your lecturer to clarify anything you're unsure of.
Set up a meeting with an advisor to help you unpack your assessment task.
Explore
Topic Ideas
- Ensure you pick topics that:
- have enough information available (do a preliminary search to see if there is enough information about your topic); and
- interest you (map out your interests to make your research more engaging).
- Locate significant terms, keywords and concepts. Get an overview of your topic.
- Explore Ideas by asking questions:
- What?
- When?
- How?
- Why?
- Which?
- Look for connections between themes and similar ideas.
- Use mind maps for main concepts.
- Brainstorm the idea, topic, or problem.
Useful Tips
Determine the amount of scholarly information available. Run a few brief searches across platforms, including the library catalogue, AI research agents and Google Scholar.
Highlight terms and concepts in your assignment outline. Find definitions or ask further questions about terms or concepts you are unsure of.
Check the Study Toolkit to help you understand how you can map out concepts and make connections.
AI Help
Try some of these conversation starters with AI, such as Gemini, to generate keywords, provide definitions and brainstorm ideas.
You are a tutor helping an undergraduate student.
- Create a list of keywords to assist in searching for relevant resources for the Australian animator Adam Elliot
- Help brainstorm ideas about...
- Provide a definition for this term...
Apply
Ideas you've explored to a document.
- This helps you keep track of your ideas, helps determine terms you can search for and provides details of what you've already tried.
- If something doesn't work, you can replan and try a different approach.
- Try out different formats like:
- tables,
- lists; and
- visual representations
This will help keep track of your ideas in a format that makes sense to you.
Useful Tips
Make notes as you go.
Use the Study Toolkit for tips on note-taking.
Write down alternative meanings of the terms you've come across.
Different databases, search engines and AI tools find information differently, so making a list of a variety of terms can save valuable searching time.
Talk through your ideas with an Academic and Professional Skills Advisor or your lecturer.
They can help make sure your approach answers the assignment brief.
Learn More Skills
Recommended Planning Skills Guides
Understand
Where to start your search using the Library Catalogue
The Library Catalogue is a great place to start searching for information for your assessment tasks and to find readings recommended by your lecturer.
Use the following starting points to help you search for a range of resources, including books, magazine and journal articles, conference proceedings, and more!
Navigate to the Library homepage to start your search.
Start a search:
Search Tips:
- Use one or two search terms.
- Don't use long sentence strings as this will retrieve minimal results.
Examples:
- sound film
- animation aesthetics
- games design
Step 1: Identify the components of your citation
Start your search using an author, book title or article title search.
Tip 1: Don't copy and paste entire citations into the library search engine.
Tip 2: When searching for authors, search by surname, e.g., Elmosnino.
Step 2: Search and Match
Match additional details like the year, edition number, issue and volume numbers to the results in the library search.
Select the name of the resource for more details.
Not sure where to start? Select a topic for recommended resources
Use Advanced Searching
Have the fundamentals of searching sorted?
Now it's time to use some advanced features to help you take a deep dive into resources.
There are different methods of advanced searching. Find two methods below.
1. Using the advanced search in the Library Catalogue
To locate the advanced search feature:
1. Navigate to the library home page.
2. Select Search or perform a basic search.
3. Select Advanced Search from the right of the search bar and follow the guidance below.
Advanced Library Search Options
1. Field selector:
For each search line, this parameter allows you to narrow the search to all search fields or a particular field (such as title, author, or subject).
2. Search type:
For each search line, this parameter indicates how your search terms are compared against the search field. You can choose from the following options:
- contains - Returns results that contain all words in the phrase, but the words may be in a different order and may not be as close together.
- contains exact phrase - Returns results that contain phrases that exactly match the phrases specified in the query.
- starts with – Returns results that contain words that start with the specified string of words.
3. Boolean Operators:
As with basic searches, you can include the AND, OR, and NOT operators between words and phrases in each search line. In addition, the Operator drop-down list allows you to select the operation that is used between search lines (see more about Boolean searching below).
4. Add a New Line:
Advanced searches allow you to include a maximum of seven search criteria lines, which contain the following parameters: operator, field selector, search type, and search box.
5. Filters:
Allows you to narrow your results to a specific material type, language or date range. In the search results, you can include and exclude facets to filter your results further.
2. Build a search with Boolean
Use Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT to narrow, expand and exclude resources from a database or internet search.
Use additional helpers such as phrase searching (" ") and asterisk (*) to help refine your search.
Advanced Library Search Options:
Boolean Operators
Use a combination of Boolean Operators to build your own search.
The three basic Boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.
Additional Helpers:
Phrase Searching
Use inverted commas around terms you'd like to keep together, e.g., "film sound"
Asterisk
Use the asterisk to ask the search engine to guess alternative endings of a word.
eg. film* will search for films, filming, filmmaking.
1. Boolean Operator: AND
AND finds resources that use BOTH keywords.
What is AND good for?
Narrowing results.
When to use AND:
- When you have too many search results.
- When you want more specific results.
- When you want to find resources that discuss the topics at the same time.
How to use AND:
- Use capitals.
- Insert AND in between each search term or set of search terms..
Example searches
"video games" AND storytelling
animation AND aesthetics AND "Mary and Max"
"sound design"
2. Boolean Operator: OR
OR finds resources that use EITHER of the keywords.
What is OR good for?
Expanding results.
When to use OR:
- When you have too few search results
- When there are:
- synonyms or similar search terms you'd like the search engine to consider.
- different spelling variations, e.g. color and colour;
- acronyms, e.g. VFX, Visual Effects.
How to use OR
- Use capitals.
- Insert OR between each search term or set of search terms.
Example searches
storytelling OR narrative
color OR colour
"sound design" OR foley
3. Boolean Operator: NOT
NOT EXCLUDES
resources that use the keyword(s).
What is NOT good for?
Excluding results.
When to use NOT:
When you:
- have results with a similar meaning that you want to exclude.
- want to filter out sub-topics.
- want to exclude unrelated terms.
Use with caution - sometimes NOT can accidentally exclude relevant results.
How to use NOT
- Use capitals.
- Include NOT before the word you want to exclude.
Example searches
animation NOT anime
teaser NOT trailer
Useful Tips:
Databases usually recognise AND as the primary operator and will automatically insert AND between the terms you enter into the search box. This is a good thing to keep in mind, since the more terms you enter, the narrower your search will be, which means you'll get fewer results.
If you use a combination of AND and OR operators in a search, enclose the words to be connected by OR in parentheses, e.g., "video games" AND (storytelling OR narrative).
Need a visual representation of how Boolean works?
Visit Combine Key Terms by the University of Hull Library.
Using AI for Advanced Searching
Ask an AI such as Gemini to develop a search string for searching in library databases.
Copy the search string the AI creates into a search engine.
See the example below for further guidance.
The Question:
"Develop a search string to include ideas and keywords about the use of aesthetics, design processes and production techniques in the animation Coraline"
1. The AI response: Boolean Search Elements
AI will provide a combination of AND, OR, and NOT terms within the search string. This works like the advanced features in library searches and databases where the Boolean Operators are selected via dropdown menus.
2. The AI Response: Where to search
AI may provide some suggestions of particular databases or platforms to search. See the tips below to locate materials.
How to use the response in a library search:
- Look at AI-recommended databases and search engines
- JSTOR is a library database (Tip - check the A-Z list for recommended databases mentioned in AI)
- Google Scholar
- Copy and paste the Boolean search string into the search bar of the library catalogue or recommended database platforms
- Look to see if the library has access to the resources mentioned e.g. American Cinematographer magazine and Animation magazine - use a journal search.
To make the most of the Research Assistant, it's essential to ask clear and detailed questions about academic topics.
- Be as specific as possible;
- Phrase your query in the form of a question.
Example queries can be found on the Primo Research Assistant starting screen.
For a detailed demonstration and further guidance, see the following FAQ: What is the Primo Research Assistant?
Use the guidance below to access resources via the library catalogue:
Useful Tips
Search different platforms for a variety of resources.
Searching across different platforms will help you locate different types of resources, providing the best possible chance of expanding the ideas for your research.
Use the keywords and ideas from your plan to run a variety of searches.
Use the Primo feature to save your search strings. Use these to build and adjust your searching approaches.
See how to sign in to the Library catalogue and save your search in the Primo Search Guide.
Take advantage of the advanced search features in the library catalogue and databases.
They may seem daunting at first, but once you try them out, you will find they increase your chances of finding more relevant material.
Explore
Down the research rabbit hole
There are a variety of ways to explore resources on similar topics. Take a look at some of the suggestions below:
Explore resources via:
Look for reference lists (like the one below) at the end of your resources.
Explore links to other similar resources via a variety of other platforms.
Is the resource behind a paywall? Try a library catalogue search and request the resource or ask a librarian for help.
Use the subject links in catalogue records to take you to similar resources.
Use Google Scholar features to locate and access additional relevant resources.
Find a relevant resource in Google Scholar and look for similar content.
1. Look for the following links shown below:
- Cited by; and
- Related articles
2. Set preferences to access resources that may be behind a paywall within SAE databases.
Useful Tips
Don't have access to something?
Request a resource via our document delivery service or ask a Librarian to investigate available options.
Save links and resource details as you go.
This saves time when trying to remember the name of the resource when you're ready to put your assignment together.
Incorporate additional terms found in subject headings as part of your search.
Apply
Resource suitability
You've located some resources. Quickly assess the suitability before you take an in-depth analysis by:
- Looking for resource overviews:
- Read the abstract of articles
- Read the introductions of books
- Use AI to summarise chapters and articles
Visit AI Features in Library Searching for specific database features.
- Check the frequency of your keywords and topics.
- Save your results for comparison. Look for save results and bookmarking features in library databases.
Make a table with key terms about the resource to determine gaps in your research. Is there anything you still need to find?
Use active reading techniques found in the Study Toolkit to determine the suitability of the resource.
To check for keyword frequency:
Use CTRL + F for a quick scan through the document, or check automatically highlighted terms within the database.
Learn More Skills
Recommended Search and Discover Guides
Your assignment is only as good as the sources you have used.
As a critical thinker, you should never accept the information without:
- evaluating the credibility of the source,
- determining its accuracy, and
- establishing the point of view or bias of the source.
To check for the reliability of the source, you must consider:
- currency,
- relevance,
- authority,
- accuracy, and
- purpose.
The "CRAAP test" is one of the ways to remember the criteria for evaluating resources, particularly websites where extra scrutiny is required due to the nature and variety of the content.
Watch a video about:
How to evaluate sources
How Library Stuff Works: How to evaluate sources (the CRAAP Test)
(McMaster Libraries, 2015)
Useful Tips
Find Library Resources via the Library Catalogue.
Library resources are a great starting point when looking for reputable resources.
Internet resources require more analysis.
Wiki sites such as Wikipedia can be used as a starting point, but do not reference them in assignment work.
Find citations in Wiki pages and trace back the references to the original source to assess suitability.
When using AI, apply further scrutiny.
AI can generate fake references, also known as hallucinations.
Apply further analysis by using the Frequently Asked Questions guidance:
Explore
Different resource types
You will need a variety of sources in your assignment work. The resources below will help you explore different types of material and help you select the appropriate resource to use.
Books may or may not undergo a formal peer-review process, depending on the publisher and the specific book in question. Scholarly books are often reviewed by an editorial board or a series editor, who will evaluate the manuscript for its academic rigour, originality, and relevance to the field. In some cases, the manuscript may also be reviewed by external experts in the field. Scholarly books are where you will find credible ideas and critical terminology, specific to your discipline.
How do I tell if a book is scholarly?
A scholarly book will usually:
- be written in academic, technical or discipline-specific language;
- have authors with academic credentials;
- have a credible publisher, e.g. Oxford University Press, Taylor and Francis; and
- have cited sources with a list of references, sometimes at the end of each chapter, or at the end of the book.
Scholarly books can sometimes contain editors instead of authors. Editors work with different academics in collecting and arranging the content within the book to high publishing standards. You will know an edited book when you see different authors responsible for different chapters or sections, and the editor's details at the beginning of the book. This information is important to note when referencing in assignment work, as the way you reference an edited book will differ from an authored-only book.
Why do I use a scholarly book?
Books are a great place to begin for background information or to understand concepts or terminology. Please be aware that books may become outdated quickly. Be sure to check the date of your resource and look for other sources of information, such as journal articles, for well-rounded research.
Where can I find scholarly books?
You can find scholarly books by searching the SAE library catalogue.
Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles are reviewed by other scholars or professionals in the field before being accepted for publication. The peer-review process ensures that only valid, accurate, and high-quality research that contributes to the body of knowledge in a field is published. Scholarly articles aren't always peer-reviewed; however, scholarly articles are considered excellent sources of information for many of your assignments at SAE.
How do I tell if an article is scholarly?
A scholarly article will usually:
- be written in academic language;
- have authors with academic credentials;
- have an abstract; and
- have an extensive list of references.
Why do I use a scholarly article?
Scholarly articles are excellent sources of research as they:
- Are content specific: Peer-reviewed or scholarly journals are produced specifically for academics, scholars and professionals;
- Present new information: Where a book is a great place to obtain background information on a topic, scholarly journals are a great way to keep abreast of changes in the field, including updates to processes and technology as ideas and research change.
Where do I find scholarly articles?
You can find scholarly and peer-reviewed articles by searching the SAE University College Library catalogue, various library databases or Google Scholar. To limit results to peer-reviewed articles while searching the library catalogue, select the peer-reviewed filter on the left-hand side of the Library catalogue results screen. You can use the guidance above to identify other types of scholarly sources, such as conference proceedings and theses.
In addition to locating scholarly sources, your lecturer may ask you to locate a variety of supporting resources for your research. These resources should include authoritative or credible information and may include:
Grey Literature
Grey literature refers to publications that are not currently commercially published or widely distributed through traditional publishing channels, such as books, academic journals, or newspapers. Grey literature can be a credible source of information, can sometimes be considered scholarly, and includes:
- Government reports
- Conference proceedings
- Dissertations and theses
- Technical reports
- Working papers; and
- Pre-print articles
You can identify the credibility of grey literature by using the CRAAP test below. To identify scholarly grey literature, you can use some additional tips found in the scholarly sources section above.
Industry Sources
Industry sources are sources produced by organisations, experts, or professionals within a specific industry. These sources are especially useful for gaining insights into trends, practices, standards, and real-world applications in that industry. They often contain industry-specific language and information about industry-related concepts or news. While not scholarly, they are respected within their industries.
The common types of industry sources include:
- Trade journals & magazines
- Industry associations and professional organisation websites
- Industry reports & market research
- Company reports & press releases
- Professional blogs and expert interviews
Popular Content
Popular content can be found on websites, in trade magazines, within library databases and social media channels. Popular content is generally not considered scholarly, but should still contain authoritative information. Popular content can include, but is not limited to:
- Interviews
- YouTube videos from professional channels
- Magazine articles
- Blog posts
- Ted talks
You can use grey literature and popular content in your assignment work where your lecturer allows. Be sure to build upon the ideas presented within non-scholarly grey literature and popular content with scholarly sources to give your work more credibility.
Where can I find credible grey literature, industry sources and popular content?
Grey literature can appear on industry and government websites, but can also be found in library databases as well. Just look for those menus in databases that filter by content; you'll see options like working papers and preprints. You'll also find popular and industry content like interviews in various formats, including podcasts, online video and trade magazines. Explore trade magazines via library databases such as Flipster (listed and accessible here) and EBSCOhost.
Watch a video about:
Identifying credible sources
Scholarly vs non-scholarly sources
(Murdoch University Library, 2018)
Useful Tips
Use platforms and databases that provide academic-specific content.
Be aware that some databases can have a combination of scholarly and non-scholarly material.
Look for the term Peer-Reviewed for scholarly material. Some databases will allow you to filter using this feature.
Peer-reviewed content is analysed and reviewed by specialists in a particular field of research, making it an excellent source of information to include in your assignment work.
Check the author's credentials by:
- undertaking an internet search,
- looking for academic credentials such as professor, doctorate, etc; and/or
- exploring Google Scholar and author profiles.
Apply
Searches to locate scholarly resources
There are many different ways to apply searches to find academic material. Using the search strategies and recommended starting points in the Search & Discover section, expand your search for academic or scholarly material using the suggestions below.
Use the FAQ: How do I use Google Scholar? to find out:
- What Google Scholar is,
- How to search Google Scholar; and
- How to set up Access via SAE links in Google Scholar.
There are a number of ways to locate academic journals the library subscribes to. Apply the suggestions below.
1. Search using Primo Journal search
i. Search the name of a particular journal
ii. Use the category facets on the left
iii. Look for the term academic, scholarly or peer-reviewed for quality resources.
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2. Use the A-Z list
- to search for a specific database platform.
- use the types drop-down and filter to academic databases
- look for the term academic, scholarly or peer-reviewed within the databases, as some will have a mixture of academic and non-academic resources.
Using AI
There are many types of Research Assistants which help to locate articles.
- Select a suitable research assistant such as Elicit to find research papers. For further recommendations, check the Study Smarter Toolkit; and
- Use the additional guidance for best results.
- Searching AI: Using an AI prompt
- Analysing resources: How can I tell a citation generated by AI is real?
Useful Tips
Search different platforms for a variety of resources.
Searching across different platforms will help you locate different types of resources, providing more ideas and points of view for your research.
Take advantage of the request features in the library catalogue.
If the library doesn't hold a resource, librarians can try to locate articles and chapters for you.
Take advantage of the advanced search features in the library catalogue and databases.
They may seem daunting at first, but once you try them out, you will find they increase your chances of finding more relevant material.
Learn More Skills
Recommended Evaluate Skills Guides
Referencing Style
Referencing sources correctly according to a particular referencing style is an essential part of university writing.
A referencing style is a set of rules on how to acknowledge the ideas and works of others.
SAE University College uses the APA 7th edition referencing style.
Why cite your sources?
- To give credit to the work of other researchers.
- To show your understanding of the topic.
- To give supporting and credible evidence for your ideas and arguments.
- To help others find the sources you have used.
- To avoid plagiarism.
Watch a video about:
The importance of APA7 Referencing
Introduction to APA7 Referencing
(SAE University College, 2023)
Referencing Parts
In order to reference effectively, you'll need to know where to begin.
Please find some tips with links to information to ensure you are on the right track.
- Each resource that you reference will have two parts:
There may be one or multiple authors in the resource you're presenting in your assignments.
The number of authors determines how this information should be presented in both the in-text citation and the reference list.
- Please see Author Basics for some further information.
Useful Tips
There are many different referencing styles. Make sure you are using the correct style when formatting references.
SAE uses: APA7
For every source you cite, make sure you include both parts of the reference.
- The in-text citation
- End Text Reference
Bibliographies and reference lists are not the same.
You don't need a bibliography or list of every resource you consulted during your research.
Referencing is about citing the works you specifically obtain information from to support your work, whether that be via a direct quote or paraphrasing for written text, an image or other form of creative media.
Explore
Resource examples
Different types of resources will be formatted in different ways in APA 7, depending on what the resource is.
Knowing your resource type will help you explore the way different types of resources are organised in the APA guide.
Find the type of resource and follow the example.
Know your resource type
Textual Works
Textual works refer to written sources and can be both online and in print.
Books, articles, dictionaries and encyclopedias, film scripts and screenplays, lecture notes and slides and personal communication such as emails and letters.
Audio & Visual Media
Audio and visual media refers to sources which contain audio or visual elements, or a combination of both.
Films, images, mobile applications, music albums, podcasts, songs, television series, YouTube videos, video games, and video tutorials such as LinkedIn Learning.
Social & Other Media
Social media refers to a range of different platforms, whilst other media refers to general websites.
Blogs, Instagram posts and images, X posts (formerly known as Twitter feeds), webpages on websites and whole websites.
Government or Corporate Works
Government or Corporate Works refer to Government publications, industry standards and reports, both online and in print.
Acts, bills, government and industry reports, patents and standards.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Generative AI tools create text, images, video, audio and more based on the prompts entered by the user.
You need to check the project AI Assessment scale and confirm with your facilitator that you are allowed to use generative AI tools before using them in your assessments, and you must clearly acknowledge their use.
Different types of models include:
- Large Language Models
- Music Generation Models
- Image Generation Models
- Video Generation Models
- Code Generation Models
Considerations
The following options provide some considerations that will help you explore referencing components further and help you know what to do if the information is different from what you expect.
Whether your resource has one, two, three, or more.
See the examples in Author Basics in the referencing guide here.
There may be times when you are unable to locate an exact example for your resource type in the APA referencing guide. Use the following tips to create your reference.
- Use a similar resource example.
- Ensure the Who, When, What and Where components are all included.
- If in doubt, ask a librarian.
Useful Tips
Each resource will be formatted slightly differently. Use APA7 formatting for the overarching style; then
Identify the type of resource you are referencing and find an appropriate example to follow.
Generative AI uses a variety of models.
Start with the examples for the type of model you are using, but use a description that best describes your model. (This may be different from these listed - due to the changing nature of AI, we can't include them all, so use your best judgment).
Consider why information is missing.
Publication dates provide a way to see how relevant material is.
Authors can be a way to analyse the validity of the resource.
If there are important details missing, consider how this relates to your research. Need something up to date, and there isn't one? Can't identify the author to check for scholarliness? Then you may need to consider other resources to cite in your assignment.
Apply
Putting the components together
Find some guidance below on formatting your citations for specific types of information.
When including an image
See general rules for SAE guidelines for using figures in assignments and presentations
If the image was viewed:
- in a gallery or on a gallery website,
- on a photo sharing platform, e.g. Flickr; or
- from a website where the image author is clearly identified.
Cite the Image as a stand alone work
Use other sources for images that have been found in:
books,
journals, and
websites where the author of the image is not evident.
In Written Text
See general guidelines for formatting in-text citations in assignments.
There are two parts to creating a reference.
In-text citations are the first step
There are two formats of in-text citations: Narrative and Parethentical.
See what the difference is and how to use both types below.
When using AI
See guidelines and best practices for referencing AI in assignment work, including recommendations on how to describe AI models.
See examples of how to use AI chats, and other AI generated content such as audio and images.
Cite the AI generally where you have used AI in certain ways.
Putting the components together using citation tools
There are a number of built-in tools and apps to help you format your references.
Visit the citation tools page for guidance on using MyBib, as well as links to other citation tools.
Useful Tips
Use the referencing tool alongside the SAE APA7 referencing guide.
The tools on platforms do their best, but sometimes they format information incorrectly. You should always check the automatically generated citations and correct any mistakes when using them in your assignments.
Look for icons like " and terms like bibliography, reference, and citation in library databases to find citation generators.
Look for browser extension options when using referencing tools such as MyBib to make referencing easier.
Learn More Skills
Recommended Reference Skills Guides