Select and navigate databases

Select which database to use depends on the topic of your assignment, and your stage of research.

If your question is broad, or you are just starting your research, tools with a wider scope are more useful. For example, if your question is 'Has motivational interviewing been effective for children under 12 in any context?' you could try:

• QUT library search
• Google Scholar
• Platform searching (such as EBSCOHost or ProQuest)

If your question is narrow, or you are further along in your research, tools with a specific, narrow scope are more useful. For example, if your question is 'Which school-based intervention programs for cannabis use have been effective in Australia?' you could try:

• Direct database searching in A+ Education (for Australia-specific information)
• Platform searching in EBSCOHost, with only the ERIC, Education Source and APA PsycInfo databases selected

• ERIC and Education Source
  • The major international databases for Education
  • Australia-specific content is patchy
  • Housed on the EBSCOHost platform, can be searched simultaneously with other EBSCOHost databases
  • See this short video tutorial for more info on using ERIC and Education Source.
     
• APA PsycInfo
  • The major international database for Psychology, Counselling and Behavioural Sciences
  • Produced by the American Psychological Association
  • Housed on the EBSCOHost platform
     
• A+ Education
  • Much smaller than the international databases, but excellent coverage of Australian material. Includes early childhood through to tertiary, adult learning, assessment, distance learning, international education, indigenous education and literacy
  • Housed on the Informit platform
  • See this video tutorial for more info on using Informit and A+ Education.

• EBSCOHost includes ERIC, Education Source, APA PsycInfo, Social Work Abstracts and Violence and Abuse Abstracts
   
• Informit is focused on Australian content, and includes A+ Education, Australian Family & Society Abstracts, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Bibliography (ATSIHealth)
   
• ProQuest includes Career & Technical Education, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts and PTSDPubs