Define your information need

Before you set out searching for information, it’s worthwhile thinking about how much and what types of information you will need. Your research question may need you to focus on scholarly and peer reviewed sources, but there may also be a requirement to search for other types of information, for example current perspectives on social media, statistics, news, or government and organisational reports (grey literature). Searching for different types of information may involve searching across a range of platforms and websites, including LibrarySearch and databases, but also using online search engines like Google to locate these sources.

For example, you could be researching the topic of the impact of the no vote in the 2023 referendum on Indigenous Australians. You could look at websites of organisations like Reconciliation Australia or the Indigenous Knowledge Institute for research and reports, for news, National Indigenous Television (NITV), and for personal perspectives search Facebook for community groups, or on X (formerly known as Twitter) hashtags and handles, like #IndigenousVoices, BlakTwitter, and @IndigenousX.

LibrarySearch

While you may need to expand your search beyond library resources, LibrarySearch can nevertheless be an excellent place to start your search, due to the array and depth of information available. Starting with LibrarySearch also means you can access books and ebooks, which will provide in-depth and background information on a topic. A search in LibrarySearch can also provide a good indication of how much information on your topic is available. Specialised subject databases in business, architecture, psychology, legal, and fashion are not covered by LibrarySearch and need to be accessed directly.

Log into LibrarySearch to access other functions, including:

• search history and saved searches
• favourites (which can be organised with labels)
• your account information (including loans and reserves)

Watch this video for a brief introduction to LibrarySearch.

What is LibrarySearch? (1:07 mins)

^{What is LibrarySearch? by RMIT University (YouTube). Copyright © RMIT University Library.}

Library subject guides

The Library’s subject guides are also good starting points for research when searching in a specific subject area. As well as including the most relevant databases, subject guides also include relevant websites, journals, books, ebooks, and videos. Many subject guides include links to key organisational and professional websites for the discipline. Depending on your area of study, subject-specific formats of information are also available, including images and artworks, map and mapping tools, and statistics.

What’s a Library Subject Guide? (1:13 mins)

_{What’s a Library Subject Guide?  by RMIT University (YouTube). Copyright © RMIT University Library.}

The following image shows how to locate subject guides from the Library homepage.

Format-specific guides

Explore format-specific and instructional guides such as:

• Company and Industry information
• Standards
• EndNote Desktop guide
• e-Books guide

Research guides

There is also a range of Research guides that include:

• Theses
• Literature reviews
• Systematic reviews
• Reference managers