Study FAQs

Evaluating sources

Newspaper, popular magazine articles and trade publication* (trade magazines/ trade journals) are not academic sources as they are not peer-reviewed. However, they can be reliable/credible sources that you can use in your assignments.

*Trade publication: contain articles written by professionals to provide practical information and to promote education and skills within a particular trade or industry and are available in paper and/or online format. 

Source: https://libguides.colostate.edu/howtodo/scholarlyvspopular

To learn more about how to Evaluate Sources, see this library tutorial.

To understand What's a scholarly source, watch this video.

Your assignment rubric often informs you of the types of sources required to support your research. Check with your lecturer if you are not sure which sources are appropriate. 

Types of sources include:  

  • Books 
  • Journal articles
  • Reports
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • Trade publication 
  • Websites and social media

For more information, see this library guide on Information Search Process.

Scholarly (also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed) sources are in-depth and well researched, written by experts in a particular field. Scholarly sources usually  include books, journal articles, conference papers and reports.    

To understand more about What's a scholarly source, watch this video.

When a source has been peer-reviewed, it has gone through the process of evaluation from a panel of other professional experts in the field. Peer-reviewed sources are therefore considered more reliable compared to other sources, such as newspaper articles. 

Examples of peer-reviewed sources include journal articles and conference proceedings. 

You can apply C.R.A.A.P Test to evaluate the credibility of a website.  

Suggested questions you can apply: 

  • Currency: Are the links functional? 
  • Relevance: Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question? 
  • Authority: Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? E.g., .com, .edu, .gov, .org, .net.
    What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
  • Accuracy: Has the information been reviewed or refereed? 
  • Purpose: What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade? 

For more questions of the test, see guide on Evaluation Criteria.

‘Com’ means ‘commercial’. Therefore, .com websites are used for commercial, for-profit companies that aim to generate profit from advertising or selling goods and services. These websites often contain information for business purposes, not for academic purposes.  

Academic sources are OFTEN peer-reviewed. Therefore, a peer-reviewed source is an academic source, but an academic source is not necessarily a peer-reviewed source.

Not all the resources in the databases are academic/scholarly. Some databases provide both academic and popular sources, such as videos, images, and newspaper articles. When searching in library databases, you may apply filter ‘peer-reviewed’ articles to get academic/scholarly materials.

You can use UlrichsWeb Global Serials Directory (log in with your RMIT account when required) to check peer-reviewed status of a journal in three steps:  

  • Step 1: Access to UlrichsWeb database.
  • Step 2: Search for the journal using title, ISSN or keyword.   
  • Step 3: Check the status of the journal whether it is 'Refereed'. 

If the icon is absent, it means the journal is not peer-reviewed.

For more support, book a Consultation with a Librarian

Not all results in Google Scholar are peer-reviewed/scholarly as Google Scholar doesn’t have the option to filter peer-reviewed articles. You can double-check the articles using Library Search.

To understand more about What's a scholarly source, watch this video.

Citing and referencing (RMIT Harvard style)

To reference multiple images on one page, students can use the moodboard format. 

  1. Number the images (1,2,3, etc.) instead of creating figures. 
  2. Provide a List of figures (full citation list) corresponding with the image numbers.

To create full citations, go to the online referencing guide EasyCite or RMIT Havard referencing printable guide.

Works in the original language (non-English) 

To reference sources you read in a language other than English, follow the referencing requirements for the type of source you used (e.g., newspaper article, website, book, journal article).

  1. Go to EasyCite or RMIT Havard referencing printable guide.
  2. Choose item type Other sources - sub-type Language other than English for in-text and reference list rule as well as examples. 

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian.

The Appendix includes any documentation that has not been incorporated in the text but is relevant at some point in the text. This may include: 

  • Data (graphs, charts, tables) or 
  • Other documentation that is too long or complex to include in the body

To create Appendices:

  1. Start a new page with the title/heading Appendix or Appendices (if many).  
  2. Number appendices in order of appearance and differently from how chapters are numbered in the report. E.g., ‘Chapter 1’, ‘Chapter 2’, etc. ‘Appendix A’, ‘Appendix B’, etc.  
  3. Place a short citation, Author (year), in the appendix. In in-text citation, mention the appendix labels. E.g., ... (see Appendix A). 
  4. Add the full citation in the reference list. 

Notice: Appendices usually appear after the reference list. If you are not sure what is expected in your course work, check with your lecturer. 

Sources:   

Report writing process (RMIT – Study and Learning Center)  

Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM)

 

To reference translated works:

  1. Use the original author’s name in the in-text citation. 
  2. Mention the translator(s)’ name in the references after the title of the work: (translator’s last name initials trans). 

E.g., Backman F and Hall F (2015) A man called Ove: a novel (Koch H and Zimmer K trans), Washington Square Press, New York. 

Source: Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM)

To reference pen names (or author’s name of a newspaper article without full name) and pseudonyms:

  1. Use the name adopted by the author. E.g., … (Mari 2009), Quynh Huong (2020) inspires …  
  2. In the reference list, list according to the pen name or pseudonym and include the author’s actual in parentheses if known. E.g., Mari (Maria Giovanna Colli) (2009) Bilbao_6: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao [photograph], Flickr, Copyright 2009 by Mari, CC BY 2.0, accessed 13 December 2021. https://www.flickr.com/ photos/ 52355315@N08/5757476385/in/album-72157626677144865/

Source: RMIT Havard referencing printable guide

To reference screenshots from YouTube videos: 

  1. In the image caption, mention the screenshot timestamp (sec. minute:second) in the video. Note that screenshots are considered images. E.g., Figure 1: Academic Educational Materials (2016) What is a case study? [video], YouTube website,  sec. 00:27
  2. In-text citation: Refer to Figure numbers when you want to mention the images. E.g., Figure 1 (Academic Educational Materials 2016) illustrates...… (see Figure 2).
  3. Reference list:  

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian.

LinkedIn Learning courses are considered online videos.  

To reference a LinkedIn Learning course: 

  1. Go to EasyCite or RMIT Havard referencing printable guide.
  2. Choose item type Audiovisual materials - sub-type Streaming video / YouTube video for in-text and reference list rules as well as examples. 

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian

To include a survey in your report, create an Appendix for the survey to save space of your report. 

  1. Start a new page with the title/heading Appendix or Appendices (if many). 
  2. Number appendices in order of appearance and differently from how chapters are numbered in the report. E.g., ‘Chapter 1’, ‘Chapter 2’, etc. ‘Appendix A’, ‘Appendix B’, etc.  
  3. Place a short citation, Author (year), in the appendix. In in-text citation, mention the appendix labels. E.g., ... (see Appendix A). 
  4. Add the full citation in the reference list. 

Sources:   

Report writing process  

Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM)

Notice: Appendices usually appear after the reference list. If you are not sure what is expected in your course work, check with your lecturer. For your own unpublished work, it is not necessary to give a full citation in the reference list. 

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian

If the author's name is an organisation, you can use the shortened name form for your in-text references in parentheses if the organisation uses it regularly and it has become commonly accepted.  

E.g., 'WHO' rather than 'World Health Organization'. This saves you space. The full name is provided in the reference list.

Include both the abbreviated (shortened name) form followed by the full version name in brackets.

E.g., Malnutrition, as well as the supply and provision of food worldwide, have worsened on account of COVID-19 and climate change (WHO 2021). 

References:

WHO (World Health Organization) (2021) WHO accelerates work on nutrition targets with new commitments, WHO website, accessed 9 December 2021. https://www.who.int/news/item/07-12-2021-who-accelerates-work-on-nutrition-targets-with-new-commitments 

Source: RMIT Havard referencing printable guide

An interview is considered personal communication. 

To reference an interview: 

  1. Go to EasyCite or RMIT Havard referencing printable guide.
  2. Choose item type Using RMIT Havard (or Other sources) - sub-type Personal communication for in-text and reference list rules as well as examples. 

Tips: To save space, you can create an Appendix to include the full interview into your report.  To see the instruction for Appendix, go to the Search box (🔍) on the top left and search for "Appendix".

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian

Illustrations you create are not usually referenced.  

However, a caption such as ‘Figure 7: Photograph by author’ or ‘Figure 11: Initial sketches’ might be appropriate when other illustrations in your assignment are referenced. Check your lecturer’s requirements for any exceptions of format.    

Make sure you refer to the figure in your writing and include the figure number. This can be in the sentence or in parentheses, for example (see Figure 1). 

Captions (Own work) rule 

Figure number: Description or explanation

E.g., Figure 1: Author’s photograph  

         Figure 2: Initial sketches of the design 

Notice: For your own unpublished work, it is not necessary to give a full citation in the reference list.

Source: RMIT Havard referencing printable guide

For film titles 

After the first mention, you can abbreviate the title as long as it makes sense. You can also omit the date in parentheses. This often happens with well-known and longer titles because it improves the flow of the text. 

E.g., Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) continues to be a popular film. Joan Lindsay wrote the story that formed the basis for Picnic

Source: Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM).

For other types 

Full title citations are recommended. Check with your lecturer if there are exceptions for your course. 

For further support, book a consultation with a librarian

Commonly, RMIT Harvard referencing style is applied to courses offered at RMIT Vietnam University. However, depending on your course’s requirements, lecturers decide the referencing style that can be used. 

Please check with your lecturer to make sure you are using the right referencing style.   

Notice: RMIT Harvard style is different from other universities’ Harvard styles.   

Search strategy

Edited books are books that include chapters written by different authors.

How to find book chapters:

  1. In LibrarySearch box, put in your search terms i.e. Chapter title => click Search.
  2. Under the filter Resource Type, choose Book Chapters.  

For more information, watch this video.

To include words in your search terms, use AND between keywords.  E.g., Vietnam AND “bottled water”

To exclude words, use NOT. E.g., drinks NOT beers.

To find alternative terms, use OR. E.g., bushfires OR "forest fires"

The more alternative terms you use, the larger the number of references you retrieve.

Note: AND, OR, NOT are called Boolean operators, and need to be written in capital letters. 

For more information on search tips, see this library guide.

To search for peer-reviewed sources, you can try these ways: 

  • Option 1: In LibrarySearch box, put in your search terms => select Search. Under the filter Availability, choose 'Peer-reviewed Journals'.
  • Option 2: Search Google Scholar for a range of scholarly resources. Google Scholar search results will include resources from the RMIT Library online collections. However, Google Scholar search results may include publications that are not scholarly.
  • Option 3: Access the library databases and search for the expected articles as some articles are not input in LibrarySearch. E.g., ProQuest, JSTOR, Wiley. See list of library databases

For more information, see these library guides Scholarly Source and using Google Scholar.

How to find books:

  1. In LibrarySearch box, put in your search terms => select Search.
  2. Under the filter Resource Type, select 'Books'. 

For more information, watch this video.

To find industry/company information, you can search in these library databases: 

  • Passport 
  • MarketLine 
  • Factiva 
  • Business Source Complete (EBSCO) 
  • Hoover's Company Profiles (ProQuest) 

For more information, see the Industry and Company Information subject guide

For further support, book a Consultation with a Librarian

Market vs. Industry Reports

The terms are often used interchangeably but market and industry reports have different focuses.

Market Reports

  • Focus on who buys or uses the product or service being created.
  • Focus on what will impact customer demand and preferences (e.g., preference for natural and organic food, increased desire to protect customer data, etc.).
  • Example databases include Passport, Statista and Marketline.

Industry Reports

  • Focus on who creates the product or service.
  • Focus on the companies that make up the supply chain and the things that could impact it (e.g., trade wars).
  • Example databases include IBISWorld.

Source: Stanford Business School   

For more information, see these subject guides:

Marketing & Martket Research and Industry & Company Information.

Webpage documents: documents written in HTML and can be viewed in any web browser.

Reports: are organised around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events that have occurred within an organisation, or findings from a research investigation. A report should have a pre-defined structure, independent sections, and reaching unbiased conclusions. 

Newspaper articles: typically report news on a wide variety of topics. Most newspapers are divided into sections. Typical sections include national/international news; local news; sports; entertainment/amusements; classified advertisements; and neighbourhood news.

Sources: 

Javatpoint https://www.javatpoint.com/what-is-a-webpage

Massey University https://owll.massey.ac.nz/assignment-types/what-is-a-report.php

University of North Florida https://libguides.unf.edu/articletypes/newspaper

You can search for mentions of a company’s suppliers in newspapers, business magazines, trade publications, or check sources such as company annual reports.  

Some library databases you can search for include:  

  • EBSCO Business Searching Interface: source types include Academic Journals, SWOT Analyses, Trade Publications, Industry Profiles, Company Profiles, Market Research Reports and Product Reviews. 
  • Passport (Euromonitor): source types include statistics, analysis, reports, surveys and breaking news on industries, countries and consumers worldwide 
  • MarketLine: sources such as company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry profiles. 

Please note: most companies consider information about suppliers confidential and do not publish this information. You may expand your keywords to search beyond suppliers and supply chain. For example, you can search for new contracts, partnerships, distributors, purchasing, procurement, outsourcing, logistics and operation management.  

For more information, see the Industry and Company Information subject guide.

For further support, book a Consultation with a Librarian.

Databases

Euromonitor International is an international provider of strategic market research. 

RMIT Library provides access to one of Euromonitor’s databases: Passport. 

To access Passport:   

  1. In LibrarySearch box, put in the search term Passport => click Search. 
  2. Choose the result type Database: Passport. 
  3. Under Full text availability, click on Passport to access the database. 

Tip: see Passport Help and Guide Videos for efficient searches. 

For more information, see the library website Databases.

To access Statista off-campus:

1. Create an account on statista.com/register:

  • Choose the category Academic  
  • Enter your institution email address (rmit.edu.vn) 
  • Select your country. 

2. If you already have an account: 

  • Log in as usual 
  • Enter the section My Account – Account Details
  • Select your institution to connect

 For further support, contact us at library@rmit.edu.vn or use the Chat service.

To access WGSN: 

Search for ‘WGSN’ on the library website, or via this link.

First time users:  

  • Select ‘Create A New Account’ (use your RMIT email address)  
  • WGSN account is activated for 90 days
  • On-campus access is required for account creation or reactivating

Returning users:  

WGSN account expires every 90 days. When your account is expired, you can reactivate your account while ON CAMPUS.  

For off-campus support, contact collection.support@rmit.edu.au

Yes. Visit the library website and search for the database name in the search box e.g., EBSCO, ProQuest, JSTOR.  Under ‘Online Access’ option, select the link to the database, then log in to access the database off-campus.

Not all the resources in the databases are academic/scholarly. Some databases provide both academic and popular sources, such as videos, images, and newspaper articles. When searching in library databases, you may apply filter ‘peer-reviewed’ articles to get academic/scholarly materials.

If you can’t get full-text access to the articles that you found, try these options: 

  • Search for the articles in LibrarySearch to check whether other databases in the library can provide you with full text access.  
  • Search for the article through RMIT Melbourne Library for access.  

For further support, contact us at library@rmit.edu.vn or use the Chat service.

LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform which provides video courses by experts in business, creative, and technical skills. LinkedIn Learning is different from LinkedIn, which is a social media platform for professionals.   

You can access LinkedIn Learning through this link or search for ‘LinkedIn Learning’ via the Library website.   

Note: you can choose the option ‘Sign in with your organisation account’ and use your RMIT credentials to log in. You can keep your LinkedIn account and LinkedIn Learning account separate.   

You can use UlrichsWeb Global Serials Directory (log in with your RMIT account when required) to check peer-reviewed status of a journal in three steps.   

  • Step 1: Access to UlrichsWeb database via this link.
  • Step 2: Search for the journal using title, ISSN or keyword.   
  • Step 3: Check the status of the journal whether it is 'Refereed'. 

For support, book a Consultation with a Librarian.

The Library provides access to a range of newspapers and magazines. To access, you can search for the name of the newspaper/magazine using the Library website. Harvard Business Review magazine can be accessed through the library database EBSCO via this link.

RMIT Library has subscribed for over 600 databases of which users can find ebooks, journals, news, data, videos and images. You can find further instructions on searching for resources on your topics through the library website.

RMIT Library holds about 500,000 ebooks of various topics in databases. You can access the list of RMIT ebooks through RMIT Library collection guides.

Google Scholar

You can access full text articles in Google Scholar by connecting Google Scholar with your RMIT library account. There are two ways to connect Google Scholar with your RMIT library account. 

Option 1: Via the library website 

This option gives you access to full text articles from the RMIT University Library databases straight from your search results list.  

Go to Google Scholar (no access to Google account)

Option 2: Direct access in Google Scholar 

From the Google Scholar menu:

  • Select Settings  
  • Then select Library links
  • Find and Add RMIT University Library if not already listed

The search results will now show the selected articles in our collections with links to FindIt@RMIT. 

Go to Google Scholar (with access to Google account).

For further support, book a Consultation with a Librarian.

Not all results in Google Scholar are peer-reviewed/scholarly as Google Scholar doesn’t have the option to filter peer-reviewed articles. You can double-check the articles using Library Search. 

To understand more about What's a scholarly source, watch this video.

For some Google Scholar tips, check this link.