Select and navigate databases

Selecting 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 CINCH (for Australia-specific information)
• Platform searching in EBSCOhost, with only the APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Legal Source, LGBTQ+ Source, Social Work Abstracts and Violence & Abuse Abstracts databases selected

• CINCH - Australian Criminology Database (via Informit)
  • An index of articles from published and unpublished material on all aspects of Australian crime and criminal justice. Includes links to publications from the Australian Institute of Criminology.
  • Housed on the Informit platform, can be searched simultaneously with other Informit databases
  • Here's a video tour of the Informit interface.
     
• ProQuest Criminal Justice
  • International research on crime, its causes and impacts, legal and social implications as well as litigation and crime trends.

  • The Proquest Criminal Justice Database is a comprehensive database supporting research on crime, its causes and impacts, legal and social implications, as well as litigation and crime trends. As well as U.S. and international scholarly journals, it includes correctional and law enforcement trade publications, dissertations, crime reports, crime blogs and other material relevant for researchers or those preparing for careers in criminal justice, law enforcement and related fields. Coverage: 1981 - current

  • Housed on the Proquest platform can be searched simultaneously with other Proquest databases
     

• Australian Federal Police Digest (via Informit)
  • A bibliographic database covering policing and law enforcement as well as national security issues including counter-terrorism, cyber threats and intelligence capabilities. This database is produced by the Australian Federal Police Library. 
  • Housed on the Informit platform can be searched simultaneously with other Informit databases.
  • See this video tutorial for more info on using Informit and A+ Education.

• EBSCOhost includes APA PsycInfo, Social Work Abstracts and Violence & Abuse Abstracts and more.
   
• Informit is focused on Australian content, and includes CINCH, AFP digest, AGIS, the policy database APO, Australian Family & Society Abstracts.
   
• ProQuest includes the Proquest Criminal Justice database, Psychology and Sociology database, Sociological Abstracts and PTSDpubs