Enrich your course by including an Indigenous perspective. There are various tools and techniques
to guide your access to the Indigenous content and collections within RMIT library.
Finding Indigenous perspectives.
If you want to find sources with an Indigenous perspective and knowledge in a particular
area, use the BlackWords database.
BlackWords allows you to search for content written only by Indigenous authors.
Go to library search and log in for full access.
Then type in BlackWords in the search field.
Then select the second entry for the website.
At this page, under view online, select the link for the AustLit Australian literature
gateway.
At the site, scroll down to enter a search term
In this instance we'll search for law.
Review your results.
To refine your research results to type of resource, use the left hand panel.
Select form to select your preferred resource type.
In this instance we'll select essay
Select an item from the results
We'll look at number 11, Indigenous Australian social justice and legal reform.
Select the title for more information including an abstract.
There may be an option to access the item online.
Scroll down to see if link and access online is available.
If this is not available you can search RMIT Library for the item.
Return to RMIT Library and type in or copy and paste the item's title.
You will then be able to view if RMIT Library holds the item.
Again select the title for more information.
Make your results more relevant and precise by using boolean operators and modifiers.
The boolean operators include 'and', 'or', 'not' and modifiers include truncation and
phrase searching.
Group similar concepts together with 'or' and use 'and' to find different concepts.
One example is the question of how Indigenous people work within resource management.
This is how a boolean search statement might look.
Use brackets to group similar terms together.
'Or' will find any of those terms.
'And' will link the two terms together and find both.
Phrase searching will search for both of those words together and truncation will find variations
on a word, for example sustainable and sustainability.
We can use this search statement in library search or any databases.
Enter the search statement into the search field.
Again, review your results use the filters on the left hand panel to further refine your
results.
In some instances you will see the option for resources in Indigenous languages.
Subject headings are assigned to resources like journal articles to accurately describe
the content within them.
Using subject headings is another way to get more relevant results more quickly.
You can view subject headings in a library search record for an item.
Select the title and scroll down to view the subjects.
These subject headings are hyperlinked and can be used to access more resources about
that subject.
You can also construct a search using subject headings via the advanced search function.
Go to the advanced search button and then under search filters and any field, select
subjects.
Enter your subject or subjects, press search and review results.
Search databases.
For academic research, use databases to retrieve scholarly and peer-reviewed articles as well
as conference papers and reports across a range of subject areas like law, health and
criminology.
In library search go to databases
and then,
on the left hand side, select the subject category for Indigenous Australians.
You can then review the databases and select the ones most relevant for your research.
Browse the subject guide.
Find further resources to incorporate Indigenous perspectives or knowledges into your course.
This card contains information that can support your teaching as well as other sources about
Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in education.
Browse films and TV programs.
Use the film, TV and radio tab to access documentaries and films about Aboriginal knowledge, history
and culture.
Canopy is a great resource for films and documentaries and has a category for Indigenous studies.
Alexander Street Press includes Australian history and documentaries about our colonial
past and the treatment of Aboriginal people.
EduTV contains films and TV shows from Australian TV including many programs from NITV like
The Point and Living Black.