PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING AND USING ‘EVIDENCE’
5. Identifying Sources of Evidence
It has historically been difficult to access research evidence, particularly journal articles, as these often require a payment to access the full article, or are only accessible through a university database (for university staff and students). However, some journal publications are slowly moving towards being more publicly available. If the abstract (overview) of a journal article is of particular interest, it can often be accessed for free by emailing the author directly. In journal articles, the author’s email address is often listed on the first page of the article.
A note on referencing sources: When accessing and using sources of evidence, it is important to make reference to the evidence source, within your documentation (e.g. funding application). This allows the reader to understand where the evidence has been sourced, and also to access the source if they want more information. Referencing may include in-text citations with a full reference list (used in this resource); footnotes or endnotes.
Useful starting points for journal articles:
Google Scholar: A good place to conduct initial searches for research evidence. Google Scholar has strong search algorithms to help locate relevant research papers published on our topic of interest. You will be able to read the abstract summaries of articles found and sometimes have access to the full publication.
There are several online databases which can be used to access research papers, such as Scopus, JSTOR, PsychINFO, EBSCO, and many more. This document does not go into detail on how to search research databases, but the following online videos provide useful information and tips on how to begin searching research databases for both broad and specific information.
How to Search Academic Databases for Research Papers
Quick Tips & Shortcuts for Database Searching
PubMed Literature Search - Basic Search Strategy
Fortunately, there are also a range of institutions and platforms that make research findings more publicly available. For example:
- Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY)
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Black Dog Institute
- Mission Australia
- The Conversation
- Child Family Community Australia
- DCJ (NSW Government) Evidence Portal
- Emerging Minds
- Indigenous Allied Health Australia (resources on supporting culturally responsive practice)
- Research Centre for Children and Families
- Parenting Research Centre
- Institute of Child Protection Studies
- Australian Childhood Foundation
Contextual evidence can also come from ACT, NSW and Commonwealth governments and other agencies, to help understand population needs, preferences and service gaps:
- National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- ‘Our Say’ Youth Lived Experience FAQs Resource
- ACT ‘Missing Middle’ report: Children and young people with moderate to severe mental health concerns who experience difficulties accessing services.
- ACT Wellbeing Data
- Australian Early Development Census data
- ACT Vital Signs Scorecard 2021
Some international sources for research evidence that may be helpful to draw upon include:
- The Centre for Research on Families and Relationships
- Research Centre for Better Outcomes from Fostering and Residential Care
- PEW Research Centre, research on family and relationships
- AUT Child and Youth Health Research Centre
- Contact, research on families with children and young people with disability
- Mind, research about youth mental health
