Pick a research topic:
- Read your syllabus (assignment instructions).
- Pick a topic that interests you and meets the assignment instructions.
- Narrow or broaden the scope of your topic so that it is "doable."
What's scope? Scope refers to the "people, places and things" or "who, what, when and where" that you are studying.
Identify key concepts:
Define and get an overview of your topic or find definitions of key terms and concepts:
- Oxford Reference - Use dictionaries to help with terminology. Encyclopedias provide background information, an overview of topics and issues and often lead you to further readings
- Applied Political Theory and Canadian Politics
- Across the Aisle : Opposition in Canadian Politics
- Canadian Politics
- A civil society? : collective actors in Canadian political life
- Civil society engagement achieving better in Canada
- The language of Canadian politics a guide to important terms and concepts
- Encyclopedia of Government and Politics (online)
- SAGE Research Methods ( supports beginning and advanced researchers throughout a research project, from writing a research question, choosing a method, gathering and analyzing data, to writing up and publishing the findings)
Government Information - covers a world of subjects including public policy issues, legislative documents and statistics that enrich research.
- LegisINFO - information about individual bills, government press releases and backgrounders (for government bills); legislative summaries from the Parliamentary Research Branch; important speeches at second reading; votes; and coming into force data
- Government of Canada publications
- Think Tank Search - search limited to think tanks dealing in public policy, including NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
- examples:
-
Newspapers& Magazines (use Boolean Operators)
Explore News Guide for more news-related resources
- PressReader (Full-image international newspapers)
- Nexis Uni - Canadian and international
- Factiva - Canadian and international
- Canadian Newsstream - Canadian
