Find quality information
Not sure how to get started with your research? Check out our Research Process Guide to learn how to plan and begin searching for information to answer your assignment question.
These are good places to begin looking for academic information on your assignment topic:
Universal search
- Search Rapua This link opens in a new windowFind academic books, eBooks, articles, videos etc. This is our library catalogue and will search almost everything we have access to.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Like Google, but instead of searching webpages, Google Scholar finds books and articles. Note: You won't be able to access everything.
Come into the Ōtara Campus Library and browse the shelves:
| 150 | Psychology | |
| 155 | Lifespan development | |
| 301 | Sociology | |
| 305.231 | Child development | |
|
Te ao Māori | |
| 361.3 | Social Work | |
| 990 | Pacific History | |
| 993 | New Zealand History |
New Zealand book collections on the internet
- Critical Issues This link opens in a new window
Provides deep analysis of the big issues in New Zealand and around the world. - Treaty of Waitangi Collection This link opens in a new window
A collection of key Treaty of Waitangi texts published by Bridget Williams Books. If access doesn't work in Chrome please use another browser. - New Zealand History Collection This link opens in a new window
Wide ranging collection of books and videos on New Zealand history.
- Women's Studies Collection This link opens in a new window
Led by a major new history of New Zealand women, this Collection combines decades of groundbreaking publishing of life through a female lens.
- BWB Texts Collection This link opens in a new window
The acclaimed and fast-growing series of ‘short books on big subjects’ creates a vibrant Collection full of fresh ideas and thinking.
- Te Pouhere Korero Collection This link opens in a new window
The journal Te Pouhere Kōrero – Māori History, Māori People was published in 1999, with ten volumes in total published by 2023. The journal is peer-reviewed and has an editorial executive.
Databases
Find academic articles, written by researchers in Social Work or associated fields.
- Sociology Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Covers an extensive range of social issues and topics. - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains an extensive collection of articles on psychology subjects. Useful for counselling, social work, nursing and mental health.
- Gale OneFile: Psychology This link opens in a new window
Collection of articles that cover the basics of studing emotions, personality and the human mind. - Proquest Central This link opens in a new windowA general database providing access to articles across all major subject areas including Social Sciences
- Informit New Zealand Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains articles on a wide range of topics relating to New Zealand culture and society. - Index New Zealand This link opens in a new window
Contains New Zealand journal and newspaper articles of general interest and for social research, the arts and humanities. From the 1980s to June 2024.
Databases for newspaper articles
- Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre Plus This link opens in a new window
Useful for New Zealand information, especially news and articles.
- Papers Past This link opens in a new windowNew Zealand and Pacific newspapers and magazines from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Research from New Zealand tertiary institutes
- NZResearchFind theses, conference papers, articles, reports and more from New Zealand universities and polytechnics.
Academic Journals
Social work and community journals
- Aotearoa New Zealand Social WorkContains research on social work theory, policy and practice. Published by ANZASW.
- Whanake: The Pacific journal of social developmentRead articles on community development in New Zealand and the Pacific.
New Zealand journals
- MAI Journal: A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous ScholarshipAn open access journal with multidisciplinary peer-reviewed articles that critically analyse and address indigenous and Pacific issues in the context of Aotearoa. See also: http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/mrindex/
- Pacific Health Dialog: The Journal of Pacific ResearchRegister for a username and password to gain free access to this journal.
International journals
- Journal of Indigenous Social DevelopmentAn open access online journal hosted by the University of Calgary
Bibliographies
The three bibliographies below are lists of articles relating to Māori and Pasifika research. Look through them to find relevant articles for your topic. Search for the title using Search Rapua or Google Scholar. If you can't access an article, we can try to get it from another library. Look at our interlibrary loan page for more information.
- Bibliography. Social Work Pertaining to Māori in New Zealand: Ngā Mahi Toko I Te Ora O Te Iwi Māori"Literature related to social work with Māori clients and bicultural social work practice" (from abstract).
- Māori and indigenous housing annotated bibliographyResearch from 2000-2018 on Māori housing and related cultural, social and well-being impacts.
- 'O le Toe Ulutaia: A bibliography of Pasifika and psychology researchResearch on a broad range of psychological topics, either carried out by Pasifika authors or in collaboration with with Pasifika communities.
Websites
New Zealand Government
Governments produce large amounts of information. Think about which government department might be working in the area you are researching.
Tip: you can choose to just display webpages from New Zealand government websites on Google by adding site:.govt.nz to your search. For instance: maori homelessness site:.govt.nz
Here are some government websites to start you off:
- The Hub: Find social science researchDo a keyword search or search by topic. Topics include Health, Quality of life and wellbeing.
Independent research
- Motu: Economic and public policy researchAotearoa New Zealand research on various topics including well-being, housing, human rights, population and labour.
Community organisations
Also think about which organisations are working in the area you are researching. Many produce reports and statistics. Often these are found under "resources" on their websites.
- Child Poverty Action GroupIncludes resources relating to child welfare in New Zealand
- CommunityNet AotearoaAn online hub of resources designed to strengthen communities - Website
- Community ResearchNew Zealand research on a variety of topics including social services, families and Māori.
- Mental Health Foundation New ZealandFeatures information on Mental Health conditions and their treatment, wellness and news.
- Te Pou o Te Whakaaro NuiA national centre for evidence based workforce development for staff working in the Mental Health and Addiction sectors.
- Ara TaiohiA national body supporting people who work with young people
Professional Associations
- Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social WorkersFind the Code of Ethics and other useful information.
- Social Workers Registration BoardA crown agency which provides social work information and registers social workers in New Zealand
- International Federation of Social WorkersGlobal social work news, resources (including policies) and campaigns.
Searching library databases
Search using keywords (the main ideas) and use advanced search to join your keywords together using AND, OR, NOT.
Put phrases in speech marks eg. "social work" "human development"
Use * to search for variations of words eg. develop* will search for develop, develops, developed, developing, development, developments etc
Use a useful book or article to find further information
Go back in time:
If you find a book or article that is useful for your research, have a look at the reference list and see if there are any sources there that could also be relevant. Search for the title on Search Rapua.
Go forwards in time:
If you find a book or article that is useful for your research, try searching for the title on Google Scholar and using the "cited by" button to find other authors, who have used it in their own research.
Can't access a relevant book or article?
If we don't have access to a book or article that you think would be relevant to your research, we can try and get it from another library. See our interlibrary loan page for more information and a form you can fill out. Or email Antonia: antonia.rust@manukau.ac.nz