Student research guide

This research guide is primarily aimed at ākonga-learners doing research papers. It's designed as a reference point for learning more about how to search for literature.

We also recommend you view our guide on Finding and using good information. This gives lots of tips on evaluating your sources.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you need any support with your research.

Carefully consider the search terms/concepts you will use to search for literature. (Note literature in this context refers to sources relevant to your research topic, such as scholarly journal articles, books, theses and more.)

Search terms

It is generally best to search using keywords, rather than a whole research topic.

Step 1

Identify the keywords from your research topic/question, e.g.

Sample research question

To what extent does social media influence teenage girls to purchase certain brands?

Keywords/phrases =

social media          influence          teenage girls          purchase brands

Step 2

Alternative terms

The above is just a starting point. It's important to consider other ways your research question might be described - the way you describe your topic may not be the way others have described it in their research.

Brainstorm synonyms or related terms:

Step 3

Try a range of searches using different combinations of keywords.

Note, the Library's advanced search allows you to group alternative terms (see more under database searching):

Step 4

You might also identify other terms as you start reading the literature, e.g.

Research methodologies

Research methodologies describe the approach that is taken in a research project.  It is the framework that is used to collect, interpret and analyse data. This page outlines some of the major types of research methodologies.

Qualitative  research

Qualitative research addresses a research problem; there may not be a lot of literature on it and the researcher wants to find out more. 

(Creswell, 2018)

Data collection methods for qualitative research include:

• focus groups
• interviews
• observation
• literature reviews
• ethnographies
• content analysis

Quantitative research

Quantitative research questions are numerical in nature, are specific and are often used to construct or test a theory. Quantitative methodologies might be used to compare two sets of related data and find out if there is a link between them. 

(Creswell, 2018)

Data collection methods for quantitative research include:

• Surveys and questionnaires
• tests
• experiments
• analysing datasets
• structured observations

Check out this page Identifying Methods (Eastern Michigan University Library, 2021), which shows examples of a qualitative and quantitative research article.

Mixed methods research

Mixed method research design combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This method is used in order to gain a better understanding of a research than you would get from using qualitative or quantitative research methods alone. Put simply this method involves the combining the numbers (from data collected) and words (from things like interviews) to provide more a more indepth understanding of the research question (Creswell, 2018).

Indigenous research methods

In a New Zealand context this is referred to as Kaupapa Māori research. Indigenous research brings to the front and centre Indigenous values, attitudes and practices. It is often carried out in community projects, local initiatives and research based on treaty claims or through Indigneous research centres based in tertiary institutions (Smith, L. T., 2021). 

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Educational research : Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Pearson Education

Eastern Michigan University Library. (2021). Quantitative and qualitative research: Identifying methods. https://guides.emich.edu/quantqualmethods/identify

Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing methodologies : Research and indigenous peoples. Bloomsbury Academic & Professional.

The library’s databases can be searched individually or via a Discovery search.

What is a Discovery search?

Discovery (or aggregated) searching allows you to simultaneously search across multiple databases.

A discovery search occurs whenever you use either the Search Everything (basic) or Advanced Search options in the Library website.

Why use a Discovery search?

Positives

• great for scoping the literature
• broadest range of results
• faster - avoids repeating searches in individual databases

Negatives

• number of results may be unmanageable
• some results may be off-topic
   

When would I search an individual database?

• useful for systematic searching; metadata is more easily captured, e.g. no. of results per database.
• full range of a database’s functionality is available – some features may be reduced in a Discovery search.
• Some databases are not included in the Discovery search. These include:
  Law databases: CCH Online; Lexis Advance; Westlaw NZ
  Standards NZ    

How do I run an advanced Discovery search?

View our Advanced searching video or see the instructions below.

Advanced searching video [5.20 min]

1. Click on the Advanced Search link beneath the Library Search box.
2. Sign in with your username and password.
3. Begin by placing each key term from your topic in a separate row, e.g.
   Topic:
   What are the benefits and risks of outdoor-based play within early childhood education settings?

Check the first page or two of results to see if the search is generating relevant results.
Depending on your topic the number of results can vary greatly.
 

To expand your search

To ensure you are capturing the widest results from the literature, enter related terms in each row separated by ‘or’. Terms suggested by the software will appear as you type, or you can add your own:

In the above example, a huge number of results appears, and you will want to use a range of limiting techniques to refine the search. For more obscure topics, the number may be much lower – adding related terms will help increase your hit rate.

Truncation

Add an asterisk to the trunk or root of a word. E.g. play* finds play, plays, playing, playtime. Nurs* finds nurse, nurses, nursing – note, it will also find nursery, so it may produce some irrelevant results. Make sure to add the asterisk to an appropriate trunk. For example, education* will not work.

# wild card

Place # where an alternate spelling might contain an extra character, e.g. colo#r finds color or colour; p#ediatric finds pediatric or paediatric.
 

Ways to limit and refine results

Phrase searching

Use double quotation marks around words to look for a particular phrase, e.g. “cognitive behaviour therapy”.
Compare results both with and without quotation marks, e.g. “car manufacture” may limit you too much, you might miss results with the words the manufacture of cars…
Phrase searching can also be used with truncation, e.g. “car manufactur*” will find car manufacture, car manufacturers, car manufacturing.

Field Operators

Field operators are very useful for both reducing the number of results and increasing relevancy.

Select an option from the Select a Field dropdown. Abstract is a good one to try – at least one word from each row must appear within the abstracts of your results.

You can also try Title –  though this may restrict your results too much.

Author if you are looking for literature by a particular person.

Note, the Subject option refers to the subject headings the database assigns to an article. It is not the same as keywords.

Further limiters: Date, Source type, Language and more

Use the range of filters to add further limits, including Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals and date range:

Useful tools

There are a range of other tools available:

Folder:

When scanning results click the folder beside any of interest. Items added to the folder are accessible via the folder icon at the top of your search:

Ebsco Account

The above is a temporary folder for the current search. To store items permanently in the folder, you need to create an account.

We recommend setting up an Ebsco account if you are going to be doing ongoing research.

You can do this under Sign In at the top of the Advanced Search page:
Sign up (or sign in if you have already created an Ebsco account):

Cite, save, email, export, permalink…

Further tools are available when you click on an article’s title to view the full record:

Above we have shown you some of the key limiters and expanders when running a Discovery search. This is not an exhaustive list. Be curious and click on things! That’s the best way to get familiar with searching.

You can also use the Help menu for information on searching, viewing results and more.

Alternatively, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you'd like our assistance.

Accessing an individual database

Click on databases from either the drop down menu or the tile on the Library homepage:

Access a database by either:
clicking an icon, looking under a Subject heading, or using the Search function:

How to search an individual database

Many of the databases (especially Ebsco databases) have very similar expanding and limiting functions as the Discovery search detailed above. We recommend employing the usual practice of trying keywords along with related terms/synonyms, and checking out the range of limiters, expanders and tools the database holds. Some databases will have additional functionality, including a greater range of limiters. Others may have less functionality, e.g. a database like ERIC has a simple interface with some advanced searching tips only.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch for assistance in using databases.

What does Google Scholar search?

Google Scholar searches scholarly material such as articles, theses, books, and conference papers. Most sources in Google Scholar are peer reviewed and you will find more academically oriented material than when you search Google.

Handy tips for getting the best from Google Scholar.

Use relevant keywords

Use the main words that describe what you are searching for. See below for an example on how to look for the impact of social media on mental health. Adding NZ or Zealand will help find New Zealand material.

Phrase searching

Use speechmarks to search for an exact phrase e.g. “renewable energy technologies”

Limit the date range.

Use the limits on the left hand side of the Google Scholar screen to limit date range.

Intitle searching

Try refining your search by doing an intitle search. See the image below for an example:

Note: Intitle is typed as one word. There is no space after the word intitle and the colon and after the colon and the first search term.

Use the cite function

While not always completely accurate, Google Scholar will provide an APA citation for your reference.

Select the referencing format you require and check the details before using the reference list entry provided.

Use OR for alternatives

Use the term “OR” (in uppercase letters) between similar words when different words or spellings are commonly used.

Use the Advanced Search 

Use the Advanced Search features in Google Scholar to search for things like exact titles of articles, authors and more.

What are the limitations of using Google Scholar?

Google Scholar can be a great way of getting started with searching but it won’t provide you with access to all scholarly material. Some full-text articles may only be available from the library databases. Google Scholar doesn’t have the same range of filters as most databases. This means that it can be hard to refine the results to meet your search criteria.  Keep in mind that unlike database searching, you aren’t able to effectively sort results by date in Google Scholar.

Try some of these techniques together Combine some of these techniques together to further refine your search. The best way to use Google Scholar is to try different ways of searching using a variety of strategies. If you are not getting the results you want, try a different combination of searching methods

Below are some recommendations for titles on doing research and Indigenous research. These include ebooks/print books in our collection, along with additional online sources.

Doing research

• ebooks
• print books

Indigenous research

• ebooks/print books
• AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
• Te Ara Tika Guidelines for Māori research ethics: A framework for researchers and ethics committee members
• Kaupapa Māori Research: Some Kaupapa Māori Principles / Linda Tuhiwai Smith
• MAI Journal: A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous Scholarship
• Kaupapa Māori Research
• Te Mana Raraunga: Māori Data Sovereignty Network

Get in touch if there is something in particular you are trying to find, or let us know if there are any research books you would like the library to purchase. We love to get your recommendations!