Topic outline

  • Welcome

  • Acknowledgement of first peoples

  • Finding Information

    • Information literacy is a skill you will grow and develop throughout your lives. While you may not be aware of it, you use it constantly in your everyday life.

    • You may need to use a wide variety of information for your assignments throughout the course of your degree. Different types of evidence can be used to respond to different questions or problems. 

    • While much of the content on the internet is inappropriate to use in your scholarly and professional lives, there is specific information that you will need to source from the web.

    • Databases are collections of resources grouped by information type or subject area. Here are a few key databases that may be useful to get started in your subject area. 

    • Do you find yourself spending hours going through search results to find the actual information you are looking for? A search strategy targets your search so your results are more relevant, and less numerous.

    • What is good information? This tutorial offers some guidance on how to evaluate the quality of the information you have found for your assignments.

    • Looking for specialist resources, such as maps and standards? This section offers links and guides for finding these resources for your study. 

    • Start searching, or explore other support available through USQ Library.

    • Need further help? Contact USQ Library in person or online. 

  • Assessment & Study Skills

    • We introduce some core study skills in this section, such as time management, and important contacts in other areas of the university. 

    • Group work can be challenging in some situations, but there are ways to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. 

    • Reflective Practice is useful for all students and in all professions, as it enhances confidence and competence.  It allows you to grow and improve.

    • University is an excellent opportunity to develop the writing skills that will be essential to your future careers. 

    • In this section we provide some tips and advice on revising and preparing for exams. 

    • Writing an Honours or Project Thesis can be exciting but may also be daunting. View this step by step guide on planning, finding information and writing your thesis.

    • This resource provides you with a step by step guide on how to start your assignment, how to find information for it and how to write your assignment.

  • Mathematics

  • Online (Wednesday) Weekly Workshops

    The library offers a number of online study support workshops throughout the year. A pdf schedule is also available.
    The workshops help with finding information for assignments, writing up assignments, exam preparation and Mathematics help. 

    Recorded workshops from a past year can be viewed at your convenience. 

  • Referencing

    • The official USQ guide to Harvard AGPS. This offers templates and examples of in text citations and reference list entries for this style. 

  • Specialist Resources

    • “Standards are documents setting out specifications, procedures and guidelines. They are designed to ensure products, services and systems are safe, reliable and consistent.“ (Standards Australia, 2018)

    • Digital and hardcopy maps of local and national regions are available for your use. These maps include elevation, vegetation, catchments, water, rainfall, soils, roads and more. 

    • Need information about drugs or chemicals? Here are some specialised databases for visualising chemical data structures and finding related information about their characteristics and effects.

  • Postgraduate Support

    • USQ Staff and Students only. Log-in required.

      This is designed to introduce you to the advanced learning, information retrieval, and management skills required to undertake a Higher Degree by Research. 

      This MUST be completed prior to Confirmation of Candidature.

    • A literature review is a comprehensive assessment and documentation of the literature related to your area of research or your problem.

    • Here are a few key databases that may be useful to get started in your postgraduate research (USQ Log-in required). 

    • Can't find a complete copy of the article? Here are some tips for accessing the full text of books and articles. 

    • Endnote is a bibliographic management software provided by the university. It allows you to create, search, sort and annotate a personal library of research. Using Endnote you can insert properly formatted citations directly into the text or reference list of your document in Word. 

    • This is where you will find the HDR Thesis Presentation Schedule which outlines the formatting requirements for USQ theses. Other official forms and guides to completing your HDR program can also be found at the Office of Research site. It Office of Research produces ReDTrain, a series of initiatives and events to help you develop your skills and knowledge.

    • This community offers a good space to connect with other USQ research students for advice and support. This is a closed facebook group for USQ research students. You will need to request access to join. 

    • Need help with statistics? USQ's Statistical Consulting Unit (SCU) offers workshops and consultations on research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation.This service is only available to postgraduate research students at USQ. You can self-enrol to access this site.

  • Contact Us

  • Course Specific Guides