Course: Research Help for High School
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Welcome to Research Help for High School, a collection of research materials collated and maintained by the University of Southern Queensland Library. Please click on the headings to find a list of resources in your subject area.
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Create a winning search strategy: Finding the right information for your assignment requires you to understand your topic to identify, locate and evaluate appropriate resources. Developing an effective search strategy (choosing relevant search terms) will save you time, ensure you find the best information available, and also help you avoid overlooking relevant information.
Find Open Access (free) images, music, and other resources: Multimedia can be used to support or illustrate your presentations. This list of open access search tools and collections can help you find great resources and comply with copyright regulations.
Evaluate your resources: Determine whether the information you found is suitable for your assignment.
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In this Academic Skills section there is a collection of resources developed and maintained by the University of Southern Queensland Library. These include self paced interactive modules containing videos and quizzes and downloadable and printable pdfs. These materials can assist with developing your writing, reading and exam preparation skills for high school.
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This Open Access eBook is suitable for students seeking to prepare for university study. Written by USQ learning advisors and librarians, it covers topics such as academic writing style, time management, finding information, preparing for examinations and structuring an essay.
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Interactive module with quizzes and videos to help you manage your assessment tasks through:
- Better understanding the of task
- Developing an assessment plan
- Following an assessment plan
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Interactive module with quizzes and videos to help develop your assignment writing skills. It covers topics such as:
- Thesis statements
- Essay structure, introduction, body & conclusion
- Creating an argument
- Editing & Proofreading
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Developing good writing skills is essential for high school. It is important to write with clear structure so your reader can understand your message easily. While it is important to follow the format specified on your task sheet, this pdf resource may help you develop your structure and improve your writing flow.
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How to structure an introduction clearly and logically.
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How to structure an essay conclusion logically and end strongly.
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How to structure an effective academic paragraph.
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Improve your writing by being succinct. Learn how to write concisely and precisely.
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Learn how to write thesis statements which clearly state the position of argument of your essay. You can find more information on writing thesis statements in the Writing Assignments Interactive Module on this page.
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Examples of informal or conversational English compared with more appropriate, formal alternatives for academic writing.
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Learn editing and proofreading strategies to improve your writing and make sure you have addressed the broader structural aspects of your assignment as well as the fine details.
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Use this checklist to double check your assignment before you submit it.
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Use this checklist to avoid these common errors in your writing.
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Overview of reflective writing, including a suggested structure and examples of language use.
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How to structure an entry for an annotated bibliography.
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How to read more effectively and efficiently, especially with large amounts or difficult content.
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Practical suggestions to help improve your reading and notetaking efficiency and effectiveness.
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Images, music and media can support and illustrate your presentations. Find Open Access collections and search engines to access quality media resources.
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Interactive module with quizzes and videos to help develop more efficient exam preparation strategies and reduce exam stress.
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Biology
- PROQUEST Central Databases of scholarly journals You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAG) A community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals
- PLOS Biology publishes open access journals in Biology
- PubMed Central a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine
Mathematics help for biology
- MathBench introduces students to the mathematical underpinnings of what they learn in introductory biology courses.
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Chemistry
- PROQUEST Central: Databases (collections) of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access the databases (this is free, easy and all online)
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAG) An online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals
- KHAN Academy Khan Academy’s library of practice and lessons includes Chemistry. You do need to join (free) to access the resources
- PLOS ONE publishes research in Chemistry
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Atlas of Living Australia - Australian biodiversity data. Look up facts about species in your area. Help contribute to biodiversity science by uploading your own observations, create a community biodiversity project or help transcribe museum records and images
- Bureau of Meteorology: Climate data online - Daily/monthly weather statistics, historical weather observations for rainfall and temperature
- Climate Council - Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. Providing authoritative, expert advice from climate scientists, energy, health and policy experts
- Elsevier Open Access - Free open access academic journals from Science Direct covering business, humanities, science, engineering and health
- SpringerOpen - Free open access academic journals covering research in science, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior Legal Studies
- Various online law resources are available for Queensland residents, including the Australian law database Lexis Advance. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
- Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) - Australian case law, legislation, treaties, law reform reports and law journals. Specialised libraries for certain topics eg Australasian Legal History, Australian Human Rights, Indigenous Law etc.
- Queensland Judgments - Queensland case law from a variety of Queensland courts
- Queensland Legislation - Queensland legislative materials (Acts, Bills etc)
- Queensland Parliament Fact sheets and Parliament and Government in Queensland booklet for secondary schools
- Federal Register of Legislation - Commonwealth/Federal legislative materials (Acts, Bills etc)
- Parliament of Australia Parlinfo search - searches across a variety of parliamentary material
- WorldLII - a variety of legal materials from various countries
- Various online law resources are available for Queensland residents, including the Australian law database Lexis Advance. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Mathematics
- Arithmetic resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Algebra, functions, and graphing resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Calculus resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Exponentials and logarithms resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Statistics resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Trigonometry resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- Matrices, vectors and discrete maths resources from the University of Southern Queensland
- KHAN Academy Khan Academy’s library of practice and lessons. You do need to join (free) to access the resources
- JSTOR: Databases of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School
Physics- PROQUEST Central: Databases of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAG) A community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals
- Elsevier
Open Access - Free open access academic journals from Science
Direct covering business, humanities, science, engineering and health
- KHAN Academy Khan Academy’s library of practice and lessons includes Physics. You do need to join (free) to access the resources
- PLOS ONE publishes research in Physics and many other areas
- SpringerOpen - Free open access academic journals covering research
in science, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Psychology
- PROQUEST Central and JSTOR: Databases of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
- DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
- PsychOpen publishes a wide range of psychology journals. All journals conduct strict peer review and adhere to the highest scientific standards. All content is free of charge to readers.
- PLOS ONE publishes research in psychology.
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Ancient History
- Internet Ancient History sourcebook contains chapters on Ancient History topics it also includes links to academic skills under the 'Studying History' tab.
- Online textbook offering a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. E.Berger "World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500"
- Queensland Archaeological Research is an open-access peer-reviewed journal published since 1984 devoted to archaeological research pertaining to Queensland, Australia and adjacent areas.
- PROQUEST Central and JSTOR: Databases of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online)
- DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
- Digital Maps of the Ancient World is useful for those studying Ancient History and Archaeology, who would like to gain a better understanding of certain sites or where certain events took place.
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Quality online, open access (or free to Queensland residents) sources for Senior High School Modern History
- PROQUEST Central and JSTOR: Databases of scholarly journals. You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online).
- DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
- KHAN Academy Khan Academy’s library of practice and lessons includes Modern History. You do need to join (free) to access the resources
- PLOS ONE publishes research in over two hundred subject areas across science, social sciences, and humanities.
- Internet Modern History sourcebook contains chapters on Modern History topics including links to academic skills under the 'Studying History' tab.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections - photographs, manuscripts, oral histories and digital stories collections of the John Oxley Library.
- Newspapers - Current and historical newspapers are available, with many collections dating back to the first issue (Australia, New Zealand, UK). You will need to join the State Library of Queensland to access this database (this is free, easy and all online).
- Aboriginal History Journal is an annual journal that contains interdisciplinary historical studies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ interactions with non-Indigenous peoples.
- Ceræ is an Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
- Online textbook focusing on a number of peace movements in Britain and West Germany from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the early 1970s. Politics of Security: British and West German Protest Movements and the Early Cold War, 1945-1970
- Online textbook examining some of the forgotten businesses of the Industrial Revolution, and the men and women who worked in them. Family and Business During the Industrial Revolution
- Online textbook Music: Its Language, History, and Culture
- Online textbook Beyond Cook: Explorers of Australia and the Pacific
- Online textbook A Possession Forever: A Guide to Using Commemorative Memorials and Monuments in the Classroom