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This guide introduces the research process for finding academic literature and other resources that will help you write a university-level essay.
Pick a research topic
- Pick a topic that interests you and meets the objectives of the assignment
- Identify the key concepts of your research topic. Need help?
- Read Choosing an essay topic
- Watch this video on formulating your research question and thesis statement
- Use Writing an outline for your essay
Do some background reading on your topic using Wikipedia
- it will help you to become familiar with a topic and will help with search terms
- watch the video: Using Wikepedia Wisely
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Search Omni to find journal articles
- use the filters to refine your search results or try an Advanced Search
Search specialized databases for History
Recommended History Journals can be searched individually by title. Try the journal search in Omni:
- Canadian Historical Review
- Journal of the Canadian Historical Association
- Histoire Sociale Social History
- Labour/Le Travail
- Acadiensis
- BC Studies
Finding Books/eBooks
- Search Omni to find books on your topic. Filter your search by selecting book/ebook
- Once you find a few good books, use the Virtual Browse feature (at the bottom of the screen) to see other books on similar topics.
- Use the Omni Search Tips guide if you need help
Useful Subject Headings for Canadian History
Try the Advanced Search by the Subject field to find books. Popular subjects are listed below:
- Canada--History
- Canada--Civilization
- Canada--Economic conditions
- Canada--Emigration and Immigration--History
- Canada--Politics and government
- Canada--Social life and customs--17th century (or 18th century)
- Acadians--History
- Constitutional History--Canada
- Frontier and pioneer life--Canada
- Fur Trade--Canada
- Indians of North America--Canada--History
- Northwest Passage
- World War, 1914-1918--Canada
- World War, 1939-1945--Canada
Basic Search Tips
1. Identify the main concepts of your research topic and brainstorm possible keywords.
2. Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine keywords and enhance your search. Boolean operators should be capitalized when searching Omni.
- Use AND to combine topics - Canad* AND "Cold War"
- Use OR to between related words or synonyms - women OR female
- Use NOT to exclude terms; gambling NOT lottery
- Use quotation marks to search for phrases - "Indian Act"
- Use the asterisk* for word endings to broaden your search - Canad* = Canada, Canada's, Canadian, Canadians
- Use the question mark ? for single character wildcard - wom?n - for woman, women
3. Begin searching for material with Omni, the library's main search box to find books and other sources on your topic. Remember to filter your search by content type for each new search.
4. Here are the filters for finding peer reviewed journal articles:
- Peer reviewed Journals
- Article
- Subject
5. Here are the filters for finding books (monographs):
- Print/Physical Item
- Books (or select Book Chapters)
- Subject
All information found online using Google should be critically evaluated because there is no guarantee that it is reliable or accurate.
While doing your research, check each source for currency, reliability, authority and purpose.
Try to answer the questions below:
Currency (Is the information up-to-date?)
- How recent is the information?
- How recently has the website been updated?
- Is the website modified regularly?
- Is the information current enough for your research?
Checklist for up-to-date information
- Site or page date
- Is the date of publication or last revision published (often at the bottom of the page)?
- When was the site or page last updated?
- Is the information out-of-date?
Reliability (Is the information trustworthy?)
- Is this web page intended for elementary or high school students?
- If so, is it the best site to refer to when writing a university-level research paper?
- Has the information passed through any peer reviewing process?
Sources?
- Has the author(s) documented his/her sources by including a reference list?
- Is the information reproduced from another site. If so, which one?
- If applicable, when were the sources published?
Checklist for reliable information
- Evidence of the peer review process (e.g., in an "About us" or editorial statement)
- A bibliography or reference list
Authority (Is the author credible?)
- Who is the creator or author of the website or web page
- E.g., a recognized individual or organization/government?
- What are his/her/its credentials
- E.g., is the individual author or organization known in the field?
- Has the author published other material(s)?
- Does the author provide contact information (e.g., email address or phone number) in case you want to verify the information?
- Who is the publisher or sponsor?
- Can you determine if he/she/the organization has a good reputation?
Checklist for authoritative information
Author's credentials
- Look for information about the author of the site or page. Is the author qualified to publish on this topic?
- E.g. Can you identify the author's education and relevant professional experience?
- Look up the author's name in the Library search box or use Wikipedia.
URL
- Read the uniform resource locator (URL) carefully to determine if you are reading someone's personal page.
- You need to investigate the author carefully because personal pages have no publisher or domain owner to vouch for the information.
Domain
- Is the domain extension appropriate for the content?
- Government sites: .gov
- Educational sites: edu
- Nonprofit organizations: .org
Publisher
- Identify the publisher (individual or organization) of the site or page.
- The publisher operates the server computer from which the site or page is issued. Do you know anything about the publisher?
"About us" links
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- This could be under "about us," "philosophy," "background," or "bibliography" tabs.
Page design or structure
- Page design is not always an indicator of credibility but if a site or page is easy to navigate, you'll be able to assess the information more easily.
Purpose/Point of view (Is the information objective?)
- What is the purpose or point of view of the site?
- Is the information primarily fact or opinion?
- Does the point of view seem balanced and/or objective (e.g., presents more than one perspective)?
- What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?
- Does the site try to persuade, advocate, entertain, or sell a product?
Begin with:
Searching for primary sources:
Search your topic (or historical person of interest) using Omni, the library's main search box, to find primary sources (or reproductions) in the library's collection.
Keyword searches in Omni that include the following terms will identify primary materials most of the time: search example: women AND war AND diar*
Other search words to consider using are: correspondence, letters, memoirs, personal narratives, recollections, reminiscences, journal, sources
More search tips:
- Check bibliographies and footnotes of secondary sources on your topic to help identify primary source material.
- Useful ebook - History beyond the text; a student's guide to approaching alternative sources
Historical Newspaper Databases
Primary and Archival Sources on the web
- Archives and Primary Sources Databases
- Digital Public Library of America
- Internet Archive
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- National Archives (UK)
- New York Public Library Digital Collections
- RUSA Primary Sources on the web guide
Other useful web sites for discovering primary source material:
- Archives de Montréal
- Archives of Ontario
- BC Archives and Royal BC Museum
- Bibliotheque et Archives Nationales du Quebec
- Canadian Museum for Human Rights
- Canadian Museum of History
- Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
- Canada War Museum
- Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History
- Health Heritage Research Services
- Historica Canada
- Library and Archives Canada
- Toronto Public Library
- Virtual Museum Canada
Writing Support Tools
- Don't bury the lede: Writing readable magazine articles (YouTube video)
- Essaying the past; how to read, write and think about history
- Writing Services @ Carleton University
Citing Tools
- Citing your sources web page
- Chicago Citation Style (Notes and Bibliography) web page
- Chicago Style (Purdue Online Writing Lab) web page
- The Chicago manual of style online handbook
