Subject guides: Midwifery Guide: Finding Information

How do I find information?

The following short video describes the benefits of using library resources and specialist databases, rather than just using Google.

The library search is a simple way to search for information resources, including journal articles. But sometimes you will need to use the additional, discipline-specific features provided by specialist databases to find the information that you need for your assignments.

Not all of the resources in specialist databases can be found using Library Search.

Subject-specific databases are ideal for searching the journal literature because they are tailored to a particular discipline, and therefore provide the ability to narrow your search in ways that wouldn't be possible in a general database or search tool like Library Search. They vary from each other on subject area, coverage, content types, geographical location, etc - so consider which database/s will be most likely to contain the kind of information you're looking for.

The peer-review process occurs when articles submitted for publication in scholarly journals are reviewed by experts in the same field.

When looking for journal articles for assignments, you can limit your searches to scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles using the refining options available in Library Search (left hand side of the results screen) and library databases (check the advanced search options).

If you already have some articles that you want to check, you can use Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory to find out if a journal is peer reviewed. Just type in the journal title (eg. Medical Journal of Australia) – not the article title – and you will be able to see if the journal is peer-reviewed by the little referee jumper symbol next to the title (peer-reviewed journals are sometimes called refereed journals).

earching for your keywords in Google will usually come up with lots and lots of results. But are they suitable to use as an information source (and reference) in academic assignments?

Use these evaluation criteria to assess online resources:

Currency- when was the work published, is id out of date for the topic?
Relevance- is it detailed analysis, what is the readership level
Authority- who are the authors and their credentials- is it peer reviewed?
Accuracy- can you verity the source, are there other sources cited in the bibliograpgy?
Purpose- is there bias in the work, is there are particular perspective?

Where do I find information and data?

eBooks are an electronic version of print books that you access online. Find eBooks by searching Library Search or by searching the databases listed in this guide.

eBooks come in a variety of formats. Some are available to read only online, while others can be downloaded and read on portable devices and eBook readers.

Why read an eBook?

24/7 access
on your own computer or device
download to your device and read offline
search within text
browse content
no library fines

If you have questions about how to find, access or download eBooks, please askthelibrary@cdu.edu.au

Find out more about eBooks via the eBook guide https://libguides.cdu.edu.au/ebooks/howto

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Workers' portal The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Workers' portal provides information on alcohol and other drug use, including tips for workers, practical tools for assessment and treatment, health promotion resources, publications and programs.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
Australian College of Nursing ACN is a key national professional nursing organisation with a focus on nursing leadership and is open to nurses in all settings and at every stage of their career.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) AHPRA - Regulating Australia's health practitioners in partnership with the National Boards
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet is an innovative Internet resource that aims to inform practice and policy in Indigenous health by making research and other knowledge readily accessible.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Authoritative Australian information and statistics to promote better health and wellbeing
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) ANMAC helps protect the health and safety of the community by promoting high quality standards for nursing and midwifery education.
Australian Policy Online Policy Online is a research database and alert service providing free access to full text research reports and papers, statistics and other resources essential for public policy development and implementation in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia’s health tracker by socio-economic status 2017 This report presents a national level snapshot of the impact of socio-economic status on risk factors for chronic diseases, on levels of chronic diseases and on premature deaths from chronic diseases.
Department of Health (Commonwealth)
Healthdirect Australia The information on the site aims to improve the health of all Australians by providing easy access to trusted, quality information and services about human health online and over the phone 1800 022 222
Lowitja Institute Australia's National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) NACCHO is the national peak body representing 143 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) across the country on Aboriginal health and wellbeing issues.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) NHMRC is Australia's leading expert body for: supporting health and medical research; developing health advice for the Australian community, health professionals and governments; providing advice on ethical behaviour in health care and in the conduct of health and medical research.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia is responsible for: registering nursing and midwifery practitioners and students; developing standards, codes and guidelines for the nursing and midwifery profession; handling notifications, complaints, investigations and disciplinary hearings; assessing overseas trained practitioners who wish to practise in Australia; approving accreditation standards and accredited courses of study.
TRIP Trip is a clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care.
World Health Organisation (WHO) WHO is a worldwide organisation with projects, initiatives, activities, information products, statistics and contacts - organised by health and development topics.

Eurostat Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. Its task is to provide the EU with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions
Exemplars in Global Health Identifies positive global health outliers, analysing and understanding what makes these countries successful, and disseminating the core learnings so they can be replicated in comparable settings
Global Index Medicus This database is run by WHO. The data is indexed by continent, country and diseases.
IHME - Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Run by the University of Washington, the IHME stores health data country by country.
MNCAH and Ageing Data Portal Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing Data Portal. World Health Organization
OECD Health Data This database visualised health data from all over the world. It allows you to compare and contrast countries and the approaches to health
UN Data Statistics produced by countries and compiled by the United Nations data system, as well as estimates and projections. Covers agriculture, education, energy, industry, labour, national accounts, population and tourism.
UNICEF Data Warehouse A leading source of data on children, UNICEF maintains databases of hundreds of international valid and comparable indicators
WHO International Library All of WHO's publications are available in this online library. You can sort via country, disease and current events
World Bank Open Data Provides download access to over 2000 indicators from the World Bank data sets including World Development Indicators.
World Population Data Population Reference Bureau's World Population Data Sheet includes the latest data on 19 key population, health, and environment indicators for the world, major regions, and more than 200 countries.

Google Scholar for CDU

Change your settings so that Find it @ CDU links automatically appear within Google Scholar in your search results:

1. Click the three horizontal lines (top left) then go to Settings (the cog at the bottom of the list)

2. Click Library links

3. Type in Charles Darwin University and click the search button

4. Tick Charles Darwin University - Find it @ CDU

If you use EndNote, under Bibliography Manager, select EndNote

Click Save

To retain these settings, you must turn on cookies in your browser settings

Charles Darwin University Library links automatically appear when you search Google Scholar on campus.

Alternatively, view this short video on YouTube to set up your preferences.

The library also holds past exams, which you can view here.

Past Exams

Midwifery Guide: Finding Information

How do I find information?

Where do I find information and data?

Google Scholar for CDU

Midwifery Journals