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Statistics for Health & Behavioural Sciences

• Points to consider
• Searching the Library Catalogue
• Locating statistics in journal articles
• Locating statistics on the Internet
• Australian statistics
• New South Wales / Illawarra statistics
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
• International statistics

Points to consider

When searching for statistical information on a particular topic ask yourself:

• are statistics likely to have been collected on this topic?
• if so, which organisation(s) would collect/publish these types of statistics?
• what keywords might be used to describe these statistics? (e.g. causes of death may be listed under the heading mortality)

Searching the Library Catalogue

The Library Catalogue is a good starting point when looking for statistics. For detailed information on using the Catalogue, work through the Library's tutorial. Following are some quick tips to get you started:

• Select keyword search. Type in your keywords eg. mortality and statistics and Australia or diabetes and statistics and australia etc.
• To locate statistics from specific organisations or government departments use an author search. eg. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
• If the exact name of the organisation is unknown, try a keyword search using the known words. For example Keyword>institute and health and welfare
• Use truncation to find all possible variations of a search term e.g. diet* will find diet, diets, dietitian, dietetics etc.
• Found too many records?
  Use the limit functions eg. limit by publication date, format, location
• Found a useful record? Extend your search by scrolling down and using the subject headings to find other relevant material

Locating statistics in journal articles

Journal articles can provide a valuable source for statistical research. Structure your search to include terms such as statistics, data collection, surveys, demography, mortality or epidemiology eg. cardiovascular disease and statistics and Australia.

For assistance using the Library's databases, work through the University Library's Finding Journal Articles tutorial.

Some databases which may be relevant are given below (access to UOW students and staff only). For a more complete list, browse through the list of Databases for Health and Behavioural Sciences.

Locating statistics on the Internet

While not everything is available for free on the Internet, it does provide an excellent starting point when looking for statistics for health and behavioural sciences. Using terms such as statistics, data collection, surveys, demography, mortality or epidemiology will help to limit your search eg. cardiovascular disease and statistics and Australia.

• Australian statistics
• New South Wales / Illawarra statistics
• International statistics

There is no "right" or "wrong" search engine. It may be necessary to use more than one search engine to locate the type of information you are seeking. A good choice when looking for Australian statistics is Anzwers, while the Google™ search engine is good for both Australian and international statistics.

It is important to evaluate the information that you retrieve from the Internet. Consider issues such as is there an author, if so, what is their credibility in writing the page and are they representing an international organisation. For further information on evaluating the web sites, work through the Library's Evaluating and citing the Internet tutorial.

Australian statistics

Click on the title link to be taken to the web site (where available) or the Call number to view the Library's Catalogue record.

New South Wales / Illawarra statistics

Click on the title link to be taken to the web site (where available) or the Call number to view the Library's Catalogue record.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The Library subscribes to the ABS Website database which contains full text ABS publications from 1998+ , historical time series, spreadsheets and Census data . Use the search feature or links on the ABS Website to search for documents related to your topic.

The Library also holds print ABS material in the 2nd Floor Compactus. Use the ABS Catalogue of Publications and Products, copies are located next to the collection and at the Research Help desk, to locate ABS publications. Use the Library Catalogue to locate material from 1996+ by searching on the title or ABS catalogue number.

Referencing ABS publications

Ensure that you follow the referencing style determined by your department.

International statistics

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Content by Health and Behavioural Sciences Faculty Librarian