So now you have finished the first step, you have read the book and selected the topics and the passages that you are going to build your essay around, next is the research phase. This assignment requires you to use a minimum of 5 references in your essay, they must include:
No Friend but the Mountain: Writing from Manus Prison, by Behrouz Boochani
Note that the Osbourne, 2015 article focuses on planning & climate change, rather than refugees, so consider how the theory is applicable to the issues raised by Boochani)
And at least three other resources ( I would use a few more than this for a solid essay).
So how do you find good additional journal articles to support your essay?
Well one of the best ways is to combine the focus words from our essay question and the key words from the theme you selected in the book and put them into OneSearch on the library home page.
For example, if I am searching for articles on offshore detention and oppression, my search words might look something like this:
Refugee AND Australia AND offshore detention AND mistreatment
You may have to try a few different combinations of search words to really land on the topic you want, but don’t give up! Once you find it you're set, and your essay will be much easier to write.
Don’t forget you also need to talk about how Australian society interacts with the power structure on Manus Island, and how we all (as a polity) influence the way that refugees & asylum seekers are being treated. This may require different search words for example:
Australian society AND public opinion AND policy AND refugees AND asylum seekers
You can learn more about breaking down your topic and developing search strategies on the InfoSkills Toolkit.
If you feel like a more structured approach to reading journal articles would be helpful to you, then consider using a reading strategy like this:
Tip 1
The librarians help people navigate Onesearch every day, so if you are having a hard time finding the right articles just take your research question and your chosen theme to the front counter at the library and the librarians will be happy to help you. Alternatively, you can ask library staff questions online.
Tip 2
As you research, include the APA references for the articles in your catalogue, seriously, you will save a bucket load of time later and a heap of frustration. Here is a link to the APA Reference Guide.
Another excellent way to find new journal articles is from the reference list in other articles. Here is one that I pulled from the Osborne (2015) reference list (remember you must use the Osborne (2015) article so you are already on the right track)
Definitely looks like it’s worth taking a look at this one, don’t you think?
Here’s another one that popped up in OneSearch
You can follow reference lists like threads. As you are reading an article if something strikes you as valuable to your essay check to see if is referenced and then you can search for the original paper and maybe find a gold mine of information.
Once you have found your articles, you still have to use them effectively. This means you will have to read with a purpose and record the important sections (including the page numbers) just like you did with the autobiography.
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