Journal articles usually provide information on a specific research topic and are often subject to review by discipline experts prior to publication. They may also be referred to as ‘scholarly’ or ‘peer reviewed’ articles
Explore: Finding peer review resources
There are many different types of reports, including those produced by Governments, industry bodies, companies and other organisations. Reports often have corporate or collective authors, such as a Government department or company board. They can be a good source of data.
Newspapers provide an overview of current news and developments on political, economic, social and cultural issues. They can be a useful source for commentary or discussion on events, however you need to check whether the information is properly fact checked or biased.
Explore: A-Z Journals and Newspapers webpage
Websites provide a huge source of freely available information which can be very useful. Be mindful that the quality of websites varies, so you need to make sure you evaluate the website for accuracy, credibility and reliability before using it.
Explore: Evaluating information webpage
Open access refers to scholarly materials that are freely available to anyone online. Open access can include materials such as journal articles, conference papers and books. This differs from Library’s database content which is governed by strict licenses and therefore not freely available to everyone.
Explore: Finding Open Access databases
Data refers to the original facts and figures which can be used to inform work practices. It could include survey results, research data and financial data. A useful place to find Australian data is from the Australia Bureau of Statistics.
Explore: Find existing datasets or Open data sets
Books usually compile broad research on a subject area and can be great starting point for an overview of your topic or background information. eBooks are simply books that are available online or electronically.
Explore: E-books webpage
Conference papers are based on presentations given by researchers, and usually deal with cutting edge research. These papers may be published in conference proceedings, in journal articles, or in another online format.
Explore: Conference paper links