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Key Resources
Focuses only on sources relating to language and linguistics. The thesaurus (advanced search screen) points to useful keywords. Many ways to filter results.
Focuses on resources relating to education, so good for finding things about teaching and learning languages, including ESL and academic writing
Useful if your topic relates to the social and cultural context of language use and structure.
If you're not sure where to start your research this guide will point you to some of the best starting points. Don't forget, you can always get in touch directly with any questions you may have. NOTE: With the limited access to the Library and our print collection, this guide has been updated to show only online resources.
Subject specific dictionaries and encyclopedias are useful for helping you figure out the jargon of a discipline and can give quick overviews of a topic to get you started. You can often pick up keywords to use in your search strategies from these sources.
- Encyclopedia of applied linguistics - entries prepared by invited scholars from around the world. Each entry includes bibliographies and suggested readings. Great resource for getting overviews of topics new to you, for exploring methodologies and theories.
- Encyclopedia of language & linguistics
- Encyclopedia of language & linguistics< also available in print
- The linguistics encyclopedia
- Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics <print only>
- Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics
- Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics also available in print
- Sage research methods - This extensive database provides information on the full range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods for the social and behavioral sciences. Includes tertiary sources such as encylcopedias as well as videos, book chapters, useful tools such as a Methods Map, and more
Start with:
- Omni : the one-search box on the Library's home page. Look for a specific title, or use keywords to find books and articles on a topic.
Use the filters on the results page to refine your search results. For example you can limit to just books or just journal articles.
During the COVID-19 closure of the building, you can use the "available online" filter to exclude print items in the library
Also try:
Our subject or discipline specific databases may allow you to find sources you can't find through Omni. They may also include other features that Omni does not have. All will let you find journal articles. Some will also include other types of resources such as books, book chapters, theses.
- Proquest databases: can search each individually or can combine and search across all at the same time
- LLBA: Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts: covers all areas of applied linguistics
- ERIC: focuses on education, so good for topics on ESL, English for academic purposes, language teaching/learning, academic writing...
- Sociological Abstracts: good for sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse... any topic dealing with social aspects of language
- MLA International Bibliography Covers literature as well as languages and linguistics
- EBSCO databases: can search each individually or can combine and search across all at the same time
- Communication & Mass Media Complete
- Social Sciences Full Text A general social sciences database. Good if you have a multidisciplinary topic
- LearnTechLib Narrow focus just on educational technology and e-learning, but material is full-text and includes articles, conference papers, presentations, ebooks
- Scopus Multidisciplinary for sciences and social sciences with times cited info and links to citing articles plus lots of ways to analyze your results
- Web of Science Core Collection Multidisciplinary for all subject areas with times cited info and links to citing articles plus lots of ways to analyze your results
- Scholars Portal Journals Completely full-text collection of the journals from a number of publishers including Elsevier, Wiley, OUP, CUP, Springer, Taylor & Francis, APA, MUSE, JSTOR... So, anything you find searching this database you WILL definitely get in full-text, but it may not cover all the important journals in any given subject area
The following is a small selection of books and journals available from the Library. Search Omni or consult your course reading lists for other suggestions.
Discourse Studies
- Analyzing Digital Discourse: New Insights and Future Directions
- Continuum Discourse Series, including:
- Handbook of discourse analysis
- The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis
- The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis
Also available in print - Gee, J. P. (2011). How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit <print only>
- Jewitt, C. (2009). The Routledge handbook of multimodal analysis <print only>
- Simpson, P. & Mayr, A. (2010). Language and power : a resource book for students <print only>
- The Routledge handbook of critical discourse studies
- Systematically working with multimodal data research methods in multimodal discourse analysis
- What is discourse analysis?
Bilingualism & Multilingualism
- Handbook of bilingualism and multilingualism
- Cognitive perspectives on bilingualism
- Current issues in bilingualism: cognitive and socio-linguistic perspectives.
- Current research in blingualism and bilingual education
- Multilingualism and bilingualism
- Results from the 2016 Census : English-French bilingualism among Canadian children and youth
- Gonzalez, J. M. (2008). Encyclopedia of bilingual education <2 vol, print only>
- Wei, L. & Moyer, M. (2008). The Blackwell guide to research methods in bilingualism and multilingualism <print only>
Language Assessment & Testing
- Companion to language assessment
- Handbook of second language assessment
- Assessment in the language classroom: Teachers supporting student learning <print only>
- Testing second
- Practical language testing <print only>
Language Teaching & Second Language Acquisition
- Cambridge guide to pedagogy and practice in second language teaching <print only>
- Cambridge handbook of second language acquisition.
- Innovative research and practices in second language acquisition and bilingualism.
- Innovative research and practices in second language acquisition and bilingualism. also available in print
- Language curriculum design <print only>
- Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching and learning, 2nd ed.
- Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching and learning, 2nd ed. also available Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching and learning, 1st ed
- Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition
- Routledge handbook of second language acquisition
- Routledge handbook of second language acquisition. also available in print
- Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking <print only>
- Teaching ESL/EFL reading and writing
- Teaching ESL/EFL reading and writing. also available in print
- Understanding second language acquisition <print only, older editions also available>
The following is just a selection of some of the major journals in applied linguistics & discourse studies that the Library subscribes to.
To see if the Library subscribes to a particular journal, search by the journal title in Omni
To search across a number of journals to find articles on a particular topic, use the article databases recommended above.
- Applied Linguistics
- Canadian Journal for Studies in Discourse and Writing
- Canadian Modern Language Review
- Classroom Discourse
- Critical Discourse Studies
- Discourse & Communication
- Discourse & Society
- Discourse Studies
- English for Specific Purposes (published as ESP Journal 1980-1985)
- International Journal of Bilingualism
- International Journal of the Sociology of Language
(journal issues often have individual titles. We have many of these in print, search for these by the individual titles) - Journal of Pragmatics
- Journal of Second Language Writing
- Journal of Sociolinguistics
- Language and Communication
- Language in Society
- Language Learning
- Modern Language Journal
- Multimodal Communication
- Studies in Second Language Acquisition
- TESL Canada Journal
- TESOL Quarterly
- Written Communication
APA Style
The School of Linguistics and Language Studies (SLALS) uses APA Style as their default style. If you're not sure what style to use, check with your professor or T.A.
| The 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020) is now available. There are some significant changes from APA 6th edition. Ask your professor which version they'd like you to use this semester. |
- Purdue Online Writing Lab: APA Formatting & Style Guide. They give examples of all kinds of references, both how to cite within your text as well as how to format the bibliography. Also includes a sample paper
- APA Style see their Quick Answers section or search their site. They are the publisher of the full Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, which we have in print, see availability
- You can also just google: "how do I cite xxxx in apa", which often turns up the official apa.org answer and other reputable (look for.edu or other university web sites). Example: "how do I cite a video in APA"
General Writing Help:
Carleton's Writing Services:
- During the COVID-19 closure, see the Writing Services section of the CSAS Online Resources page
| Want some one-on-one help with your writing? Need some help with your draft? You may want to make an appointment with Writing Services, located on Floor 4 of the MacOdrum Library |
For Graduate Students:
- Surviving linguistics: a guide for graduate students <print only>
- A Survival Kit for Doctoral Students and Their Supervisors: Traveling the Landscape of Research
For everyone:
- Essay writing: a student's guide <print only>
- Making sense : a student's guide to research and writing, 5th ed. <print only>
- Making sense : a student's guide to research and writing : social sciences, 7th edition.<print only>
- Academic writing: A practical guide for students
- Student research and report writing : from topic selection to the complete paper
- Writing effective course assignments : a guide to non-degree and undergraduate students
- They say / I say": the moves that matter in academic writing, 3rd edition <print only, older edition also available>
- Using sources effectively: Strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism, 5th edition <print only>
