If your assignment asks you to use:
it is asking you to use credible information that has been written by and for experts in a subject—and usually written by the person who conducted the research they are writing about. In engineering & aviation, scholarly sources are usually journal articles or conference papers.
Peer-reviewed (also known as refereed) articles have gone through an additional process to ensure their quality. These articles have been checked before publication by other experts in the field to make sure they seem plausible, there are no noticeable faults in the methodology, and they reach a reasonable conclusion given the evidence presented. Peer review does not mean that an article is credible, but it is more likely to be credible.
You will find scholarly sources in databases, WorldSearch, or Google Scholar. These sites usually have a search option that will return only peer-reviewed results. Some useful databases are listed below.
For other scholarly resources:
Statistics, standards, and government or company reports are not considered scholarly sources, but might be useful and credible. To locate this sort of evidence for your work, check out the Websites, Law/Statistics, and Patents/Standards pages in this guide.
Databases are where you'll find journal articles and conference papers.
A database is a searchable collection of journal articles, books, and other resources. Some databases focus on peer-reviewed articles of academic quality, while others also contain newspaper articles, conference papers, book chapters, TV clips, and other types of information.
Many databases are subscription-only, so use the links here, on the A-Z database list, or on ECU WorldSearch to ensure the database knows you are an ECU student. This will prompt you to log in using your student username and password, if you are not already logged in.
Some items found in a database can only be found using that database, so it is worth performing a relevant database search even if you have already looked on ECU WorldSearch or Google Scholar.
ECU subscribes to many databases, some of which are subject specific, and some multi-disciplinary (they contain information for several academic disciplines). Some databases have content that is relevant only to a specific specialisation or field.
The A-Z database list has a brief summary of each database to help you decide which to use, and it can be filtered to return only databases that are relevant to aviation. However, keep in mind that aviation-related information can be found in other databases as well, and each database holds different material.
The databases listed below are useful places to start. You may have to check several databases to find the evidence you are looking for.
Engineering Village provides access to a wide range of academic journals, conference proceedings, technical standards, and trade magazines related to a broad range of engineering topics. It also provides access to index and analytical tools such as Compendex and Inspec providing engineering specific controlled vocabulary and material property searching.
Engineering Workbench by Accuris provides access to Australian and International Standards (including ISO, ASTM, BSI, and ASHRAE standards). The database allows you to search for related bibliographic information including technical articles, journals, books, patents and patent applications, and utility modes.
Edith Cowan University acknowledges and respects the Noongar people, who are
the traditional custodians of the land upon which its campuses stand and its programs
operate.
In particular ECU pays its respects to the Elders, past and present, of the Noongar
people, and embrace their culture, wisdom and knowledge.