Finding information

Searching for specific resources

You can find most of the resources you need for your university assessments by searching the Curtin Library catalogue or using one of our databases. However, some types of resources may need a more focused search. This page gives you tips on where to look for different kinds of information and strategies to make your searches more successful.

Use the menu below to choose the type of resource you want to find or learn more about.

You should always quality-check the information you would like to include in your assignments. See Critical reading for tips on evaluating sources.

Standards

“Standards are voluntary documents that set out specifications, procedures and guidelines that aim to ensure products, services, and systems are safe, consistent and reliable” (Standards Australia).

Watch What ISO standards do for you (International Standards Organization) for more information on standards.

Where can I find standards?

The Library provides access to standards via the databases listed below.

Provides full-text access to Australian standards.

Provides access to American Society of Testing and Materials standards.

Select Standards from the Browse drop-down list to view a list of standards available from IEEE.

The National Construction Code, Building Code of Australia and Plumbing Code of Australia are now freely available.

Standard not available? Curtin staff and postgraduate students may request other standards (for example ISO, IEC) through Intertek Inform. Search for the standard, open the record, then click Request Access on the right side. The Library will be notified of the request and investigate access.

Tips for finding standards

  • Try searching using the full title or the standard number (for example, ASCRM 035:2014). Using just keywords might give you too many results and make it harder to find the right one
  • Standards are updated often, so make sure you are using the most recent version. Databases will tell you if a standard is current or if it has been replaced by a newer one
  • Some international (ISO) standards have matching Australian and New Zealand versions. If you are looking for an ISO standard, try searching for the standard by the number (for example, 9000:2016). You may find an identical version in the database, such as AS/NZS ISO 9000:2016.

Downloading standards

Many standards are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM), which limits how the files can be used and shared. This helps make sure users follow copyright laws and licence agreements.

To download and open a DRM-protected standard on your computer:

  1. Install Adobe Acrobat Reader. You need this program to open the PDF file
  2. Search for the standard in the database and click Download. Make sure you know where the file is saved (for example, in your Downloads folder) Important: Do not try to open the file in your web browser—it will not work properly.
  3. Go to the folder where the file was saved. Right-click the file and choose “Open with…”, then select Adobe Reader
  4. You should now be able to view the standard. Because it is protected by DRM, it is for your personal use only. You are not allowed to email it or share it with others.

Case studies

A case study is a research method that closely looks at a person, a group of people, or another small sample to understand a real-life issue or problem in depth. Case studies can:

  • Show how certain ideas or concepts work in real situations
  • Help explore complicated problems in detail
  • Support decision-making and offer useful recommendations.

Tips for searching for case studies

  • Case studies are usually published in academic or professional journals. When searching for them, it helps to use keywords related to the subject area you are researching. This will improve your chances of finding useful results
  • Many library databases let you limit your search to case studies. Look for filters such as: document type, publication type or article type
  • If the database does not have an option to limit your search, you can add the words “case study” or “case studies” to your search. For example: business ethics AND “case study” OR “case studies”.

Where can I find case studies?

Many library databases include case studies. Below are some key databases that cover a range of subjects:

This database is great for case studies in nursing and allied health. To find case studies, choose Case Study under the Publication Type filter.

This is a useful database for case studies in business. You can narrow your search by selecting Case Study as a Document Type or Publication Type.

Emerald covers subjects like management, information science, engineering, education, health, and social care. You can limit your search by selecting Case Studies at the top of the page.

ProQuest covers many different subjects. You can find case studies by choosing Case Study in the Document Type field.

WARC focuses on advertising and marketing. To find case studies, go to the Strategy drop-down menu and select Case studies to use the Case Finder.

Conference papers and proceedings

A conference paper is the written version of a presentation given at a conference. They often share the newest research and ideas in a field. This makes them a great source of up-to-date information and current developments. Papers from the same conference are often collected and published together as a conference proceeding.

Conference papers and proceedings can be published in different ways, which can make them hard to find. They may be published as a book, included in a journal article, released as a special issue or supplement of a journal, or part of a series. Sometimes the organisation that runs the conference may only publish abstracts (short summaries), and not the full papers. In other cases, authors may upload their papers to their own website or to a university website. Occasionally, conference papers may not be published at all.

Tips for searching for conference papers and proceedings

  • Try searching using the full name of the conference or use a few keywords along with the location and year of the event
  • If you know the title of a specific paper or the author’s name, you can search for that directly
  • Many library databases let you limit your search to conference papers. Look for filters like document type, publication type or article type.

Where can I find conference papers and proceedings?

You can search for conference papers and proceedings in the library catalogue or in databases. Keep in mind that not all papers presented at a conference are published. Some may only be available as abstracts, and others may not published at all.

Curtin Library catalogue

To find conference papers or proceedings in the library catalogue, you can limit your search results by selecting Conference Proceedings or Conference Papers under Resource Type.

Library databases

Many library databases include published conference papers and proceedings. Below are some key databases that cover a wide range of subjects:

A large database that includes summaries and references for peer-reviewed research. It covers areas such as science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Indexes journal articles, conference papers, data sets, and more. It covers subjects in science, social science, arts, and humanities.

A large database that covers many types of content, including conference papers. You can limit your search by choosing Conference, Conference Paper, or Conference Proceeding under Document Type.

Other sources

Some conference papers and proceedings may be freely available online and can be found by searching Google Scholar.

Unpublished conference papers are harder to find. Sometimes, only the title, author, and abstract (summary) are published in a book of abstracts, which may appear in a journal supplement. These usually do not include the full paper.

In some cases, unpublished papers may be:

  • Available on the conference organiser’s website
  • Shared only with people who attended the conference
  • Posted by the author on their personal website or through their university’s online repository

If you are unable to find the full paper, you may be able to contact the author directly to ask for a copy.

Datasets

Data is the raw information collected during a study, experiment or survey. It usually needs to be processed or analysed using software to make sense of it.

A datasets is a collection of data that has been organised in a structured way. The records in a dataset can be arranged differently, depending on how you want to access or use the information.

Where can I find datasets?

Finding datasets can take time and may involve searching different sources. Some common places to look include: government websites, data directories, university or institutional repositories, research centre websites or search engines, like Google or Google Scholar.

Key Australian repositories
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)/Universities Australia Agreement

Students and staff at Australian universities are able to access a range of data services from the ABS free of charge on a range of topics including the Census of Population and Housing, health, education, business, labour force, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, migrants, crime, disabilities and ageing.

More information including registration and access details are available on the ABS/Universities Australia Agreement page.

Commercial data repositories and registries
International data archives

Using datasets

When research data is meant to be shared and reused, it should have a license that explains how it can be used. If you use a licensed dataset, make sure you follow the rules set out in the license. If the dataset does not have a license, you must contact the data owner (also called the rights holder) to ask for permission before using it.

Drug resources

Drug resources provide information on the identification and prescription of drugs, including information on dosage, side effects, drug interactions, ingredients and more.

Where can I find drug resources?

The library provides access to a range of drug databases and resources to assist you in finding accurate, evidence-based information.

AMH provides a concise, up-to-date source of independent drug information to facilitate effective, rational, safe and economical prescribing and dispensing.

The Children’s Dosing Companion provides information for prescribing and administering medicines to children from birth to 18 years.

MIMS Online contains both abbreviated and full prescribing information, consumer medicine information and product images for pharmaceuticals available in Australia.

Martindale is a comprehensive reference resource on drugs and medicines used throughout the world. Coverage includes: drug monographs, propriety preparations, manufacturers and disease treatment reviews.

Therapeutic Guidelines contain searchable, peer-reviewed clinical guidelines covering a broad range of topics. It also contains drug information and dosing regimens for a range of diseases.

Provides information on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines.

A source book of drug interactions, their mechanisms, clinical importance and management. Covers interactions between therapeutic drugs, proprietary medicines, herbal medicines, foods, drinks, and drugs of abuse.

Pharmacopoeias

Pharmacopoeias provide standards for pharmaceutical substances and medicinal products used in a country. These legally binding standards are important in regulating the quality of medicines.

Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Complementary and integrative medicine should be considered alongside drug interventions in terms of their efficacy, but also their interactions and toxicities.

ebooks

An ebook (short for electronic book) is a book that you can read on a computer, tablet, phone or other device.

Where can I find ebooks?

The easiest way to locate ebooks is by searching the Library Catalogue.

  1. Enter keywords from your topic in the search box and then click on the Search button
  2. On the results page, refine by selecting Available Online filter in the right side menu
  3. Then select the Books Resource Type to limit your results to ebooks only.

Once you have found a suitable ebook, select Available Online in the item record. This will provide the link to the database where you can read (and sometimes download) the ebook.

How to use ebooks

Ebooks are different from printed books. They do not need to be borrowed using your library card, and you do not have to return them yourself because this happens automatically. However, many ebooks use something called Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM is a system that controls how you can use the ebook, especially when it comes to downloading or printing.

All ebooks can be read online, as long as a copy is available. However, your session needs to remain active. If you stop interacting with the book, the session may time out, and you will need to search for the book again and reopen it.

Many ebooks now use the EPUB format as it is more accessible and works better with screen readers. EPUBs adjust to the device you are using – the text resizes to fit the screen you are on and they also allow you to change the font style and size, line spacing, and background colour.

Titles in EPUB format have dynamic page numbering, which means the page numbers can change depending on the device you use. For this reason, if you need to cite a quote, it is better to use other identifiers instead of page numbers. Check the relevant referencing guide for more details.

Some ebooks let you download the whole book or just a chapter so you can read it without an internet connection.

If you download the entire book, you will usually need to install an app. Follow the instructions in the database to get the right software. After downloading an ebook, you usually have between 1 and 14 days to read the book offline. When this time ends, the ebook will expire and you can no longer open it. If you still need it, you will have to download it again.

If you download a chapter or a few pages, the file is usually a PDF. You can open it in a PDF reader or in your web browser.

You can print or download chapters from some ebooks, but DRM rules decide how much you are allowed to print or download. Most of the time, you can print, save, or download one chapter of an ebook. This follows the fair dealing rules in the Australian Copyright Act 1968.

Some ebook platforms also let you highlight text or make notes while reading online. These changes are saved, so you can see them next time you open the book. You may need to create an account or log in to use these features.

Why can’t I open an ebook?

DRM controls how many people can access an ebook at the same time, based on the number of licenses available. Just like a physical book that is checked out, some ebooks cannot be opened if someone else is using them.

We know which ebooks are likely to be in high demand and have turned off the download option for those titles. If you try to open an ebook and it will not load, or it only gives you five minutes to read, try again later. Avoid peak times like the middle of the day.

Grey literature

Grey literature refers to both published and unpublished research, produced by government, academia, business and industry, that is not controlled by commercial publishers. Some examples of grey literature include:

  • Government reports
  • Newsletters
  • Theses
  • Policy documents
  • Fact sheets
  • Surveys and interviews

Why use grey literature?

Grey literature is an important source of information as:

  • It can help address biased reporting of research results (publication bias) and provide a more balanced view of a topic
  • It can be a good source of up-to-date literature for new or emerging areas of research
  • In some topic areas (e.g. social sciences, government policy), a large amount of the evidence is communicated through grey literature.

Tips for searching for grey literature

Searching for grey literature is not always easy and can be time consuming. Simple searches are often more fruitful than the rigorous strategies used for database searching. Try searching on your core concepts rather than using long strings of search terms.

If using a search engine such as Google and Google Scholar, use the Advanced Search option. This will allow you to limit your search by date (e.g. last 5/10 years), language (e.g. English), region (e.g. Australia) etc. thus avoiding the retrieval of large numbers of results.

When you perform a Google search you can also limit to particular domains or by file type:

  • “Sustainable tourism” AND poverty site:gov.au will look for Australian government websites with information on sustainable tourism and poverty
  • “Sustainable tourism” site:org will look for organisational websites on sustainable tourism
  • “Sustainable tourism” AND poverty alleviation filetype:pdf will look for PDFs on sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation.

Where can I find grey literature?

Websites of relevant organisations

Search or browse the websites of key organisations in your research area. These may include: government agencies, academic or research institutes, private companies, professional associations, and advocacy groups. Depending on the focus of your topic, the following sources may be useful:

Library databases

As well as journal articles, many library databases also index other types of literature including conference papers, reports, theses and government documents.

  • Scopus and Web of Science index conference papers and technical and other reports.
  • ProQuest indexes dissertations and theses, and conference papers and proceedings.
  • Informit (an Australian database) indexes conference papers and many government documents.

Most library databases provide the facility to limit by publication or document type, which will allow you to narrow your search to grey literature sources.

Grey literature databases, library catalogues and repositories

  • Specialised databases, such as GreyNet, index grey literature in a number of subject areas.
  • Trove is an overarching search interface to search the content of most Australian libraries as well as archives and repositories.
  • Institutional repositories, such as espace at Curtin, hold digital theses and research papers. Open Access Australasia provides a list of research repositories.

Images

An image is a visual representation of a person, object, or idea. Images can include: paintings, photos, drawings, cartoons and illustrations, diagrams, graphs, computer graphics and plans.

Original images are considered artistic works and are protected by copyright laws.

Ownership and use of images

It is important to follow copyright rules when using images. Just because an image is easy to find online does not mean you can use it freely. Some images can be downloaded and reused under certain conditions. Others, like those from Associated Press, iStock by Getty Images, or Shutterstock, require payment for a license.

Open license, Creative Commons and public domain images

An easy way to avoid copyright issues is to use images that are Open license, Creative Commons (CC) or in the public domain.

An Open license allows people to use and share content with few restrictions. Creative Commons is the most common type of open license. Creative Commons licenses do not remove copyright, instead creators give permission for others to use the content in specific ways. You do not need to ask for permission if you follow the rules of the license. You can learn more about CC licenses on the Creative Commons website.

Public domain images are either no longer protected by copyright or have been made freely available by the copyright owner.

Where can I find Open License, Creative Commons and public domain images?

The following websites provide easily accessible advanced search filters to quickly identify Creative Commons or public domain images:

Attributing open license, Creative Commons or public domain images

If your work will be shared publicly, you may need to include an attribution statement giving credit to the creator.

To properly attribute a Creative Commons image:

  • Name the creator
  • Include the title of the work
  • Provide the URL where the image is hosted
  • Mention the type of license and link to it
  • Keep any copyright notice that comes with the image

For help with attribution, see Best practices for attribution on the Creative Commons website.

Referencing images in Curtin University assessments

When using images in your assessments, follow the correct referencing style for your unit. Curtin University provides guides for:

Legal materials are documents used in legal research and are usually divided into two main types:

  • Primary legal sources are those created by the government, courts, or other official bodies. These include legislation (laws made by parliament) and case law (court decisions)

  • Secondary legal sources are based on primary sources and help explain or analyse the law. These include journal articles, books, legal dictionaries and encyclopedias, commentaries, and newspapers. They are useful for helping you find and understand primary legal sources.

How can I find legislation?

Legislation is made by parliament and includes: Acts (also called Statutes or Acts of Parliament) and subsidiary legislation (also called subordinate or delegated legislation), such as regulations, rules, orders, statutory instruments and by-laws.

You can find Australian legislation on government websites:

How can I find case law?

Case law (also called court decisions or judgments) records how courts make decisions in legal disputes. In Australia’s common law system, courts can set precedents—legal rules that apply to future cases.

To search for a case, it helps to understand the case citation. For example:

Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1

  • Commonwealth v Tasmania - the case name (plaintiff vs defendant)
  • 1983 - the year the case was published
  • 158 - the volume number of the law report series
  • CLR - the abbreviation for the law report series (in this case CLR stands for Commonwealth Law Reports)
  • 1 - the page number where the case starts

To find a case:

  1. Look up the full name of the law report series. Use the Legal abbreviations from Monash University Library
  2. Search for the name of the Law report series in the Library Catalogue
  3. Click Available online to access the database that holds the law series
  4. Search for the case name or citation in the database.

The following selection of databases include legal materials. For more legal databases, see the Databases A-Z.

  • Lexis Advance Pacific - Australian primary and secondary legal sources
  • Westlaw AU - Australian legal journals, case law, commentaries, precedents, encyclopedias and legislation
  • CCH IntelliConnect - Australian and some international commentary, cases, legislation and news.
  • AustLii - Free access database of Australian Commonwealth and State legal information, including legislation, case law, and journal articles.

Further resources

To learn more about finding legal materials see:

Newspapers and other media sources

Newspapers and other media sources keep us informed, discussing current or recent information of either general interest (for example daily newspapers like The Australian or the New York Times), or a specific subject focus (e.g. political or trade news like the Foreign Policy or the Australian Financial Review).

Media sources include newspapers, magazines, TV current affairs programs, online news organisations and news blogs.

Why use news and other media sources?

News and other media sources provide up-to-date reporting on events as they are occurring, while journal articles and books may take months or years to move through the publication process. Media sources are great for images, quotations, opinions, and other primary source material. They can:

  • Present issues in the context of when they occurred. The way issues are discussed is likely to closely align with the feelings and opinions of the general population at a particular time;
  • Seek comment or opinions from representatives of both sides of an argument, providing multiple points of view about an issue;
  • Present statistics as they are released, including data related to jobs, economic outlook, health, companies and industries.

News and other media sources reflect matters that are of interest to the population they serve, whether that be the general public or a more specific audience.

Tips for searching for news and media sources

Searching for news and media sources may require a different approach than searching for journal articles or other academic content. They are usually aimed at a general audience, so it is best to avoid using technical language and discipline-specific jargon in your search to increase your chance of success.

Consider the difference between the language used in the newspaper article headline and the journal article title below:

  • Newspaper headline: Forecasts put WA Back in the Boom Business

  • Journal article title: Entrepreneurial and Business Growth and the Quest for a “Comprehensive Theory”: Tilting at Windmills?

Where can I find news and media sources?

You can often find news and media reports by searching Google. However, you may not be able to access the full content without paying for a subscription. If this happens, try searching in the databases listed below.

NewsBank provides access to a wide range of Australian and international news sources. Includes The Australian, Australian Financial Review, Sunday Times, West Australian and National Indigenous Times.

Factiva has a large collection of Australian and international newspapers.

ProQuest provides access to over 2,000 newspapers including 300 Australian newspapers and 63 related specifically to business and economics.

Provides access to archived digital editions of the West Australian newspaper from 2004 onwards. It is updated daily with each edition available the day after publication.

An archive of Australian television news, current affairs and selected documentaries from the free-to-air networks. The content is mostly video, however detailed synopses are also provided for each entry.

Original research articles

Original research articles (also known as primary research articles or empirical articles) are journal articles that provide a detailed account of the techniques and methods used by researchers to conduct their own research. These articles undergo a rigorous peer review process where experts in the same field evaluate the research methodology and data collection before publication.

Why use original research articles?

Original research articles supply the results and data of scientific research as first reported and serve as the raw material for further research.

How do I know if an article is original research?

Original research articles:

  • Include the following sections: background/literature review, methods/methodology, results, discussion and conclusion
  • May mention the type of study conducted (e.g., cohort study, longitudinal study, randomised controlled trial etc.) in the title or abstract (summary) of the article
  • May be labelled as Original research, Research article, Original article or similar.

Example: Time-restricted eating without calorie counting for weight loss in a racially diverse population: A randomized controlled trial

Some articles may appear to be original research but are actually reviews of previously published research. Keep an eye out for terms such as review, systematic review, meta analysis, retrospective study, literature review etc. as these types of articles are considered secondary sources.

Tips for finding original research articles

  • Add terms such as trial or study to your topic search, e.g. play or pretend play AND child development AND study or trial
  • Check the databases for limits such as ‘Research articles’ or options to filter to particular study designs (e.g. randomised controlled trials)

Where can I find original research articles?

Databases are a great source for journal articles on a wide range of topic areas. Below are a selection which are useful for finding original articles.

You can refine to Research articles under Article type on the search results page. Note that some systematic reviews may be included so check the abstract for further details about the type of research conducted.

Add the term trial or study to your topic search. Check the abstract for further details about the type of research conducted as review articles may be included in the results.

Perform a search for your topic. Once results are returned, click Additional Limits. Under Methodology, select relevant study types e.g., Clinical trial, Empirical study, Field study, Qualitative study, Quantitative study… and click Limit a Search.

Patents

A patent is a legal right granted to a person or organisation to commercially exploit a new invention (device, substance, method or process). The patent excludes others from selling or using the invention for a set period of time (the life of the patent).

Why use patents?

A patent includes a description of the nature of the invention, and is often the first place that information on a new area of research is made public. As patents must disclose (in some detail) the nature of the invention, details disclosed in an existing patent may save you from undertaking unnecessary research.

Where can I find patents?

In most countries patents are issued by a single authority, and are available on the official website. Some useful search tools for finding patents include:

IP Australia administers Intellectual Property issues in Australia, and using their website, you can search for patents, trademarks and designs.

Allows free searching for USA granted patents. It contains the full text and drawings of USA patents since 1976.

Contains patent applications issued by both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Provides access to international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in full text format on the day of publication, as well as to patent documents of participating national and regional patent offices. This database is also hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

A not-for-profit organisation that provides universal access to patent information, including biological sequences. It also includes some analytics such as patents which cite a journal publication.

Includes over 120 million patent publications from 100+ patent offices around the world.

Primary sources

A primary source provides a first hand account of a topic. Primary sources report on events or discoveries, or share new information. They are original materials which have not been filtered or changed through interpretation, condensation or evaluation by a second party. In contrast, secondary sources are not original sources of information; instead they describe, analyse, summarise or discuss the information from primary sources.

Plays, photographs, news reports, diaries, surveys and social media content are just some examples of primary sources.

Journal articles can be primary or secondary sources. Original research articles that provide a detailed account of research activity, written by the scientists who conducted the research, are primary sources.

Why use primary sources?

Primary sources are valuable for a number of reasons. They:

  • supply the results of scientific research as first reported
  • can offer an inside view of a particular event
  • provide insights into how people view their world at a particular time
  • serve as the raw material for further research.

Where can I find primary sources?

Library Catalogue:

Many primary sources can be found in the Curtin Library Catalogue, including newspaper articles, images, government documents, and research datasets. You can use the options under ‘Resource Type’ (found on the right-hand side of the screen) to limit your search to specific types of primary source material.

Other sources:

This site provides links to the resources of Australian Archives as well as to most other major archives in Australia.

Trove is the National Library’s ‘discovery service’ for information, resources and people. You can search for pictures and photos, digitised newspapers, diaries, letters, music, sound and video.

Search Google to discover blogs, social media content, statistics, court records, historical documents, autobiographies and more.

Reports

“A report is a specific form of writing that is organised around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings” (Massey University, 2012). It usually covers the who, what, where, when, why and how of a particular situation, issue, or problem, and may be produced by government departments, research groups, not-for-profit organisations, companies, and others.

Why use reports?

  • Reports are generally highly specific and go into quite a bit of depth, providing you with a complete picture on whatever subject they are covering.
  • Reports are written by individuals or organisations that are strongly linked to the subject matter. They can provide the context for why particular decisions were made, specific directions were taken, particular problems tackled and so on. You are getting information direct from the source.
  • Reports will often contain information that will not be available elsewhere.

You will need to exercise some caution when accessing certain types of reports. Company reports and reports produced by charity organisations, for example, are produced largely for marketing purposes. It is possible that positive information will be highlighted, while more negative material is glossed over or omitted altogether.

Tips for searching for reports

Reports will generally be available for free on the Internet, and simple strategies are often more fruitful than the rigorous strategies used for database searching.

Websites of relevant organisations

Search or browse the websites of key organisations in your research area. Looking out for links to ‘publications’, ‘reports’, or ‘collections’ can help. Remember, reports are produced by companies, government departments, professional associations, not-for-profit or charitable organisations, academic or research institutes and may more. Depending on the focus of your topic, the following sources may be useful:

Online search engines

Search engines such as Google are useful when searching for reports. Most reports will be published online in PDF form, so it’s helpful to limit your results by file type:

  • “Renewable energy” AND Australia filetype:pdf will search for PDFs on renewable energy and Australia.
  • “Renewable energy” filetype:pdf site:gov.au will search for PDFs on renewable energy from Australian government websites.

Google searches will often return large numbers of results so consider limiting your search by date (e.g. last 5/10 years) etc. in Advanced Search.

Statistics

Statistics is the practice that deals with the collection, organisation, analysis and interpretation of numerical data. General conclusions about a set of data are then able to be drawn from a sample of the data.

Why use statistics?

Statistics allow us to draw accurate conclusions about a population from a limited sample. They inform research, decision making and societal insights, and are often presented as tables, graphs or charts. In your studies, using statistical data can enhance your research, lending credibility to your work and support your ideas or position.

Tips for finding statistics

  • Include the term ‘statistics’ alongside your other topic keywords when performing a search, e.g. Indigenous education AND statistics.
  • Look at the websites of government and non-government organisations, private companies or academic institutions responsible for collecting and reporting on statistics.
  • Limit your search to a particular website or domain, e.g. add site:gov.au to your search to find statistics on Australian government websites, e.g. Indigenous education statistics site:gov.au

Regardless of the subject, statistics are often limited by both time and geography, and you may not always be able to find the exact data you are looking for. It is important to bear in mind that:

  1. It takes time to collect and publish statistical data, so you may not be able to find the most current statistics on your topic.
  2. The data may have never been collected or may be held privately and not available to the public.
  3. Statistical data for some countries can be difficult to find, so you may have to search for the broader region. For example, if you are not able to find statistics for Germany, you may need to search the broader region, Europe.

Where can I find statistics?

Statistical data is not always easy to locate as as there is no one single source for this type of information. Most statistics are published by national or state government agencies. However they can also be found in scholarly journals, reports, websites, books, databases, and newspapers.

Websites of relevant organisations

The following websites provide statistical data for Australia and other countries around the world.

The ABS is responsible for statistical collection and analysis for Australia’s federal, state and territory governments. It provides key economic, financial and census data for the Australian economy.

The AIHW produces authoritative and accessible information and statistics to inform and support policy and service delivery decisions for all Australians.

RBA, Australia’s central bank, provides economic and financial data produced by the Reserve Bank and other organisations.

The European Union’s statistical information service, responsible for publishing high quality Europe-wide statistics and indicators.

Provides global statistical coverage on economics, trade, industry, finance, employment and health.

Compiles and disseminates global statistical information including economic, demographic, social, environment and energy statistics along with the National Statistical Offices for member countries.

Compiles the most recent available data on health and health-related indicators, including topics such as mortality and burden of disease, health systems, health equity, and more.

Provides information on international trade figures for commodities and commercial services such as transport and financial services.