Remember these helpful tips when you are searching for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources:
- Various terms: The search terms that will supply you with most results are "Aboriginal", "First Nations", "Indigenous" and "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander".
- Countries: Many countries use the terms "First Nations" and "Aboriginal" such as Canada, Hawaii and North America. When searching for resources, it is always worthwhile double checking to make sure the resource is Australian.
- And/or: You may see 'and/or' being used at times within the phrase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultural or knowledges. This is to refer to any potential cross over between cultures that may exist.
- The 's': You may have been an 's' added to the end of words such as culture, people or knowledge. This has become best practice in recent years as it denotes how there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, and knowledges, and seeks to move away from generalising.
- Amount of resources: There are limited resources relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and cultures in some fields. If you come across few resources, it may not be because of your searching technique, particularly if you are looking for very niche subject areas.
Google Searching
Google is a useful tool for finding Indigenous Australian literature. Keep in mind:
- A simple search for broad keywords from your topic is often the best approach (e.g. Indigenous OR Aboriginal AND languages).
- Google searches will usually return large numbers of results so consider limiting your search by date (e.g. last 5/10 years), language (e.g. English) etc. using the Google Advanced Search option in if you are getting too many.
You may find that sites relating to indigenous populations in other countries are also included in your results. Try adding site:au to your Google search to restrict your results to Australian materials e.g. indigenous or aboriginal language site:au
