How to Find Sources

The university buys access to over 300 databases, which are basically huge online indexes of journal articles and other expert sources. For my course, the most relevant ones are Art and Design and Abstract Technology and Engineering. These articles are written by experts and are exactly what we need for our research.

The starting point for all of this is Usearch.

The key takeaway was to be strategic with keywords:

• Break it down: Don't search for a whole sentence.
• Use "quotation marks": If you're looking for an exact phrase, like "serious games", quotes will search for those words together.
• Use truncate (): (e.g., design* would find "design," "designer," "designing").

What to Do After You Search

It's also crucial to keep a record of what works. I should be noting down which keywords and databases gave me the best material. I must grab the full reference for any source I think I might use.

Some of the sample searches they showed really helped clarify what a good research topic looks like:

• Usability of smartphone interface design for elderly users
• Impact of Artificial Intelligence on teaching strategies
• ChatGPT and academic integrity in higher education

Managing All Your Sources (RefWorks)

RefWorks is citation management software that the university supports.

It's a tool that:

• Lets you build your own personal database of all the references you find
• Organises them into folders