Frequently Asked Questions

Click on https://printery.ara.ac.nz and follow the online prompts or click on our guide to Mobile Printing at Ara for the full instructions.

 

If you have problems please call ICT for free from 0800 24 24 76 and ask to be put through to the ICT Service Desk.

 

 

 

You can find out about whether you have to reference Grammarly in the Using AI Tools For Assignments subject guide page.

Please note that you should always check with your kaiako (teacher) that it is ok to use Grammarly to spell check or grammar check your assignments. If you have permission to use Grammarly from your kaiako, you do not need to reference it, if you use the spelling and grammarly functions only. 

If your kaiako says you need to reference Grammarly even if you only used it for spell checking and grammar checking then see the AI Tools section of the Ara APA Referencing guide and the example from the Ara APA guide of referencing Grammarly which is below.

 

To change from Bing to Google as the default web browser in your address bar in Microsoft Edge do the following:

• Click on the three dots in the top right of your Edge browser
• Click on Settings
• Click on Privacy Search and Services
• Click on Search and connected experiences
• Click on Address bar and search
• At Search engine used in the address bar change this to Google

Go to https://printfunds.ara.ac.nz and follow the prompts or click on this TechAssist link about Ara Printing Online Top-Up for the full instructions.

 

On City campus, Madras Street on the ground floor of the Rakaia Centre, you can also pay cash at the Student Finance Office to top up your print credit.

For students there are bookable rooms at Manawa. They are as follows - HPG16a, HPG16b, HPG16c, HP105, HP305 & HP312. (Capacity 4 people in each room). Note that bookable rooms at Manawa have a QR code which facilitates the booking process.

For larger group bookings see Scott Dew, the Building Supervisor, at the Admin desk on the ground floor at Manawa or email scott.dew@tewhatuora.govt.nz 

These are bookable through each student's Ara Outlook Addressbook or you can scan the QR code for the room if easier. See the Booking a Room at Manawa information here. Email ictservicedesk@ara.ac.nz  if you have any problems.

Staff can book a room at Manawa by seeing Scott Dew, the Building Supervisor, at the Admin desk on the ground floor at Manawa or email scott.dew@cdhb.health.nz

Please note that clinical spaces are unavailable for students without a clinical lecturer in attendance.

 

 

"Rigour refers to the strength of the research design in terms of ensuring that all procedures have been followed scrupulously, that all possible confounding factors have been eliminated and that the user can be confident that the conclusions are dependable...There are two key concepts... Validity [which] concerns the extent to which the research measures what it purports to measure without bias or distortion [and] reliability [which] refers to the consistency of measurement within a study." (Gerrish et al., 2015, p. 28).

For help to critically appraise a research article there is a useful chapter in Jackson et al., (2023) called "Reading and appraising research" and also the older edition of this by Borbasi et al. (2019) which include:

• questions to ask when appraising methodology
• identifying bias in quantitative research
• understanding statistical significance using confidence intervals (CI) 
• an example appraisal for a quantitative study
• an example appraisal for a qualitative study

Another book to help you appraise research is that by Greenhalgh et al. (2020) which includes such topics as:

• what was the research design and was it appropriate to the question?
• what was the research question and why was the study needed?
• meta-analyses and meta-syntheses
• the difference between qualitative and quantitative research
• evaluating papers that describe qualitative research
• quantitative research designs
• reliability and validity in measurement
• how bias threatens the validity of research evidence
• descriptive statistics for summarising sample characteristics
• confidence intervals
• summarising treatment effects from multiple studies of interventions in a systematic review (includes reading a forest plot).

You might also be interested in the following

• an FAQ - In quantitative research how are risk ratios also known as relative risk calculated and what is the significance of confidence intervals?
• a guide from Flinders University on critiquing research 

 

Reference List 

Greenhalgh, T., Bidewell, J., Crisp, E., Lambros, A., & Warland, J. (2020). Understanding research methods for evidence-based practice in health (2nd ed.). John Wiley 

Lacey, A. (2015). Ensuring rigour. In K. Gerrish & J. Lathlean. The research process in nursing. (7th ed. p.28). John Wiley 

Jackson, D., Halcomb, E., & Walthall, H. (Eds.). (2023). Navigating the maze of research : enhancing nursing and midwifery practice (6th ed.). Elsevier.

Borbasi, S., Jackson, D., & East, L. (2019). Navigating the maze of research : enhancing nursing and midwifery practice (5th ed.). Elsevier.

Follow the standard referencing example in the Ara APA guide when referencing Acts. The commencement date is the important part of the reference for Acts and not their subsequent edits.

Therefore, for the Privacy Act as featured below, the referencing would be:

Privacy Act 2020, No.31. (2020). https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0031/latest/LMS23223.html

To find peer-reviewed articles:

• go to Library Search 
• enter your keywords in the search box. Use parentheses for terms around or . For example (australia or zealand) finds articles mentioning either of these locations. Use speech marks where you are looking for words in a specific order e.g. "access to health", "quality of life", "prostate cancer", etc.
• change "Everything" to "Journal articles" - This will search most of the Ara databases at the same time.
• click the Search button.
• In the right column tick next to Peer-reviewed journals and Apply filters
• Select the Publication Date if you need up-to-date articles e.g. Select 2017-2027 and Refine.
• To retain the peer-reviewed and date of publication filters for your next search click on Remember all filters.

​Here is an example for a search for peer-reviewed New Zealand or Australia  articles on barriers to access to health which you can modify with your own keywords. Note that this method will search across most of the Ara databases at the same time. Make sure peer-reviewed and the date of publication shown in Years still shows to the right of your results to be sure your results are up-to-date and peer-reviewed.

See also our FAQ called How do I search a database like CINAHL or Proquest Central?

 

 

APA Referencing tip: If you click on the citation icon (it looks like speech marks) you can see the APA reference for any article in Library Search. Click on Copy citation to clipboard to copy and paste the citation into your reference list. Important: Always check your citation against the relevant section in the Ara APA Referencing Guide. 

See Plan your search in the Information skills - Subject Guide and Gather your resources - Information skills - Subject Guide for more tips to create a search strategy to find peer-reviewed articles in databases.

Use Ask Live to chat with a librarian during opening hours if you need more assistance to locate peer-reviewed articles to help answer your research question.  Alternatively email library@ara.ac.nz or come to the Library on Madras St campus or Timaru campus.

Find here the timetable for Learning Services Quick Questions at Christchurch City campus.

At Quick Questions ask us about: 

• getting set up to study,
• managing your study and your time,
• planning and writing assessments,
• APA referencing,
• preparing for exams and tests,
• managing online learning 

If you need help finding articles and books for your assignments you can :

• see the Plan your search in the Information Skills subject guide
• chat with a library expert in the Ask Live chat service.

You can find books on Māori and education in New Zealand by using search terms Māori education history in Library Search

Below are some resources from the Library Search and some from the web.

             Websites

Calman, R. (2012) Māori education  - mātauranga. Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori-education-matauranga

New Zealand. Waitangi Tribunal. (2011). Ko Aotearoa tēnei : a report into claims concerning New Zealand law and policy affecting Maori culture and identity : Te taumata Tuarua.  https://www.wai262.nz/ko-aotearoa-tenei

                Section 5.3.6 outlines significant  developments in education in New Zealand.  Use the find feature (Ctrl F) to find the 665 mentions of education in this document.

Hunziker, C. (2022). No Māori allowed TVNZ. [A film documentary from TVNZ where an academic unearths a forgotten history of residents of Pukekohe tell their stories that confront a dark racist past.]

Katipa, M. (2022). Speak no Māori . TVNZ. [A film documentary from TVNZ that unpacks the history of te reo Māori in New Zealand]  

Walker, R. (2016) Reclaiming Māori education. In J. Hutchings & J. Lee-Morgan (Eds.) Decolonisation in Aotearoa : education, research and practice. New Zealand Council for Educational Research. https://www.nzcer.org.nz/sites/default/files/downloads/Chapter%201%20Ranginui%20Walker.pdf

 

Books in the Māori collection at City campus, Christchurch

Bartholomew, R. E. (2021). No Māori allowed : New Zealand’s forgotten history of racial segregation : how a generation of Māori children perished in the fields of Pukekohe.

Bishop, R., & Glynn, T. (Ted). (1999). Culture counts : changing power relations in education. Dunmore Press.

Penetito, W. (2011). What’s Māori about Māori education? : the struggle for a meaningful context. Victoria University Press.

Simon, J. A., Smith, L. T., & Cram, F. (2001). A civilising mission? : perceptions and representations of the Native Schools system. Auckland University Press.

Simon, J. A., & Smith, L. T. (1998). Ngā kura Māori := The native schools system 1867-1969. Auckland University Press.

Whitinui, P. (2011). Kia tangi te tītī : permission to speak : successful schooling for Māori students in the 21st century : issues, challenges and alternatives. NZCER Press.

 

Ebook

Hemara, W., & New Zealand Council for Educational Research. (2000). Māori Pedagogies : a view from the literature. NZCER Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpit/detail.action?docID=30456286

               Includes information on the whare wananga or traditional house of learning.

Journal articles

You can find journal articles on this topic in Library Search by changing "Books, ebooks..." to "Journal articles" and ticking "peer-reviewed" and limiting date of publication to the last 10 years.

Library Search results include the below articles:

Hetaraka, M. (2022). Myth-Making: On-going Impacts of Historical Education Policy on Beliefs About Māori in Education. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 57(2), 321–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-022-00257-0

Lee, H., & Lee, G. (2017). The politics of Māori education: History, policies, conflicts and compromises. Waikato Journal of Education, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v1i1.527 

 

 

See the Plan your search page of the Information Skills Subject Guide to:

• Brainstorm your search terms
• See the toolkit to help create your search strategy
• Create a TemplateForSearchStrategies to help you answer your research question.

Navigate to the recommended databases on the Articles/ Databases page of your Subject Guides e.g. Articles/Databases - Nursing - Subject Guide

 

We will start our database searching in CINAHL Ultimate.

 

1. Choose the Advanced Search when you first open CINAHL.

Sample research question: How does climate change impact health in New Zealand or Australia?

2. Plan your search strategy by first identifying your key search terms. e.g. climate change; health; New Zealand ; Australia

Search tips:

• Use quotation marks around any phrases or words you need to appear side-by-side e.g. "climate change"  "New Zealand"
• Use "or" to broaden your search to any of your selected terms e.g. "New Zealand" or Australia
• Only use one concept per line in the search strategy.
• You can just use Zealand or phrase search on "New Zealand" to avoid finding irrelevant articles because the word "new" was separately sitting in your search strategy.

Your search strategy may look something like below:

Further filters applied could include:

• full text (good if you have limited time but can be too limiting if you are doing a literature review. Ask a librarian via Ask Live  if you cannot find full text of a specific article)
• peer-reviewed (recommended if you need scholarly and academic quality articles; peer-reviewed means the article has been checked by an expert in the field of study)
• research article (recommended if you are looking for primary or original research)
• publication date e.g. past 5 years. (selecting a date range ensures your results are up-to-date)

Below is an example of one of the results. Now click the three vertical dots in top right of the article details to:

• Click Cite to find the APA 7th reference.
• Click Share to email the PDF and APA reference to yourself (Highly recommended to keep track of all your articles)
• Click Download to get the full text of the article.

As in CINAHL remember to:

• Choose Advanced search
• Keep similar terms for a concept in the one line
• use speech marks around any key phrases
• tick peer-reviewed if scholarly and authoritative articles are needed
• choose your Publication date if needing up-to-date information

As in CINAHL you can:

• Click on Full text PDF to download the article
• Click on the speech mark icon to get the APA reference
• Click the Email icon to email the APA reference and PDF to yourself (Highly recommended)

For further assistance:

• use Ask Live to talk with a librarian during opening hours
• email library@ara.ac.nz 
• ask at the Ara Library on Madras St or Timaru campuses.
• See the Gather your resources page in the Information skills - Subject Guides 

There are two PDF software applications available on Ara computers:

 

Foxit Reader, which allows you to view, print, annotate, or sign PDFs.

 

PDF24, which can organise PDF pages (split, rotate, remove, rearrange pages), convert to different formats, extract images, annotate, perform OCR, redact / blacken parts for privacy and many others.

 

Both applications are free, so you can also download and install them on your personal device if you wish.

If you need Adobe to do more complex edits in your PDF see our FAQ Do students have access to Adobe software at Ara?

Find all the Techassist guides to installing Microsoft Office 365 on your own device including MacOS and Windows devices.

All Ara Students and Staff, get Office 365 free of charge. This includes:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• OneNote
• Outlook
• Sway
• OneDrive

And more!

You are also able to download and install a copy of MS Office on up to 5 personal devices. This can be accessed by signing into your Student Email on My Ara at: https://myara.ara.ac.nz 

Sign in with your student email and account password, click on the Student Email tile, followed by the blue Outlook button in the top right of the window.

When in your student email, you can access Office 365 applications by clicking on the top left square icon, or the word “Office 365”.

Read this guide on paragraphs which covers how to write a topic sentence by apply the TEEL model - Topic sentence, Explain ideas, Examples.

This following video also outlines the TEEL model - 

• Paragraphing [Ara Video]

You may also be interested in the following related FAQs:

• Where can I find the Learning Services guides for writing an essay, sentence structure and paragraphs.
• I would like a guide to plan my assignment writing. Do you have a planning template?

Not at the moment.

Dr S Gautam JP is normally available but is taking a pause until November 9 2026

(opens in new tab)

 

 

You can find a JP at some of the libraries in Christchurch. See when and where they are located on the Christchurch City Libraries website. See the full list of JPs on the Royal Federation of NZ Justices' Associations website

Find the Learning Services Study Smart resources in My Ara.  Some of the popular ones are also linked below:

• How to analyse assignment instructions
• Formatting your assignment
• Linking words and phrases - To help you polish and clarify your academic writing.
• Instructional words - Meanings of terms used in assignment instructions.
• Paragraphs - Applying the TEEL method to formulate your sentences in a paragraph.
• Paraphrasing - How to
• Yearly planner - Use this planner to keep track of all your due dates for assignments.

When considering using AI to help you with your assignment always check with your tutor first. If using AI is approved for use in your assignment see the AI for Research tab of the Academic Integrity and AI subject guide to find about some  AI research tools commonly used in education today.

Find out the difference between primary and secondary sources in Types of Research page of the Research Subject guide or read the following guides:

• What are primary and secondary sources?
• What are primary and secondary sources in Nursing?

In summary primary sources are original materials created during the time period studied. In general the authors of the article have actually carried out the study with a group of participants. Primary research includes:

• original research articles
• historical documents like letters, diaries etc.
• artworks
• interviews
• surveys

Secondary sources usually summarise original research work. Examples of secondary sources include:

• literature reviews
• books

 

If you have already registered at Ara and set up your Ara Clinical Key password then you can access Clinical Key at the link in our Databases A-Z  Before you click this link make sure you have cleared your browsing data (Ctrl, Shift Delete keys on your keyboard are the shortcut to clear your browsing data on a PC, Cmd, Shift, Delete keys on an Apple computer). 

If you are still not successful then try:

• accessing Clinical Key from Databases A-Z  in a NewInPrivate window in Edge browser or NewIncognito Window in Chrome browser. (Look for the three dots in the top right corner of your browser to access NewInPrivate window in Edge)

           

• accessing Clinical Key on an Ara computer via  MyAra / Library Search / Databases A-Z  / Clinical Key for Students. If that is successful on an Ara computer, then restart your personal device and do the same i.e. go to My Ara / Library Search / Databases A-Z / Clinical Key for Students.
• If you are still not successful email customercare@elsevier.com from your Ara email address and they can manually set you up 

Go to Combine PDF – Online PDF Combiner and combine your PDFs there. This is a free service and requires no registering or logins.