Pick a research topic
- Read your assignment instructions carefully
- Pick a research topic that interests you and meets the assignment criteria
- Identify the key concepts of your research topic
If you need help:
- Use Choosing an essay topic
- Do some background reading on your topic using Wikipedia, and watch the Using Wikipedia wisely video
- Read Developing strong research questions
Use guides, dictionaries, and encyclopedias to find authoritative definitions, and useful bibliographies.
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- Canadiana (contains all 'Early Canadiana' content)
- Canadian Journal of Native Studies
- Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples (print only)
- Historica.ca
- Historical dictionary of Canada (print only)
- Indigenous writes : a guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit issues in Canada
- Place names of Canada
Search Omni, the library's main search box to find books or peer-reviewed journal articles on any topic.
- How to find books using Omni
- How to find journal articles using Omni Remember to refine your search by selecting the following options: Peer-Reviewed Journals, Articles and Subject (optional)
- For more help, use Omni Search Tips
Search subject-specific databases to find journal articles. They offer many advanced search features and search results tend to be more precise.
Key Databases:
- America History and Life (covers Canada and the US)
- CPI.Q
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database (CBCA)
- Érudit (covers mainly French language articles but some in English)
Additional Databases:
- Bibliography of Native North Americans
- Google Scholar
- Historical Abstracts (covers the world history, except Canada and US)
- Hubert Wenger Eskimo Database
- JSTOR
- Libris Canadiana
- National Film Board of Canada
- Peel's Prairie Provinces
- Periodicals Archive Online
- Worldcat
Dissertations
Begin with:
To find Primary sources in Omni:
- Search your topic (or historical person of interest) using the library's main search box Omni
- A keyword search that includes one of the following terms will identify primary materials in most cases:
- Diar* (for diary or diaries)
- Correspondence
- Letters
- Memoir
- Personal narrative
- Recollections
- Reminiscences
- Journal
- Sources
Other search tips:
- Check the bibliographies and footnotes of secondary sources on your topic to help identify primary source material.
- Useful book: History Beyond the Text : A Student's Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources
- Some original documents can also be found by searching our archival collections, or by contacting the Archives and Special Collections (ASC) staff for help. The library has many microform collections of primary sources as well. Please ask for help.
Library and Archives Canada: key historical sources by selected topic:
- Canada and the First World War
- Canada in the Making
- Canadian Confederation
- Canadian Historical Booklets
- Canadian Illustrated News, 1869-1883
- Early Chinese Canadians, 1858-1947
- Exploration and Settlement
- First Among Equals - the Canadian Prime Minister in Canadian Life and Politics
- Genealogy and Family History
- Home Children Records, 1869-1932
- Indian Affairs Annual Reports, 1864-1990
- Indigenous Heritage
- Military and Peacekeeping
- The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters
CIHM (Canadian Institute for Historical Micro-reproductions)
- Historical microfiche reproductions from the time of the first European settlers to the 1920s can be searched by entering relevant keywords and adding and CIHM to the search in the library's main search box, Omni.
Digital Archives
- Archives Canada
- Canada in the Making - Internet Archive
- Canadian Letters and Images Project
- Canadiana
- Empire Club of Canada
- Empire Online
- HathiTrust Digital Library
- Historical Atlas of Canada - Online learning project
- Internet Archive
- Libraries and Cultrual Resources Digital Collections - University of Calgary
- Primary Documents.ca
Historical Newspapers
Canadian
- The British Colonist
- Canada Gazette
- Canadian Illustrated News, 1869-1883
- Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844
- Google Newspaper Archive
- Library and Archives Canada - Collections of Canadian Newspapers
- Toronto Star: Pages of the Past (1894-2012)
British
- Times Digital Archive (1785-1985)
- The Guardian (1821-2003)
- The Observer (1791-2003)
Government Information
- Canadian Parliamentary Publications (Pre Confederation)
- Constitutional Acts: 1867-1982 - Department of Justice
- Canada Remembers - Veteran's Affairs Canada
- Canadian Council for Refugees 100 years of immigration to Canada 1900-1999
- National Defence and the Canadian Forces
- Labour Organizations in Canada - Employment and Social Development Canada
- Historical Statistics of Canada
- History of Global Affairs Canada
- Statistics Canada - Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
- Status of Women Canada
- Treaties and Agreements - Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Maps
- Canada's Participation during WWI: The Battlefields
- Canadian Atlas Online
- Canadian Confederation - Maps & Images - 1667-1999
- Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Carleton including Ottawa
- In Search of your Canadian Past
- Native Land - Indigenous Mapping
- Residential Schools in Canada - Interactive Map
- Territorial Evolution of Canada
Other Media (images & videos)
- Art and War: Australia, Britain and Canada in the Second World War (Canadian War Museum)
- Canada and the First World War (Canadian War Museum)
- Canadian Letters and Images Project
- Canadian War Poster Collection (McGill)
- Canadian Wartime Propaganda (Canadian War Museum)
- CBC Digital Archives
- CN Images of Canada Gallery: A Canadian History (Canada Science and Technology Museum)
- Japanese-Canadian Photograph Collection (University of British Columbia)
- Korean War Photo Gallery
- National Gallery of Canada
- Northwest Rebellion Photograph Galley (University of Manitoba)
- Sporting Lives: Images of Canadian Athletes
Writing Guides
- Essaying the past; how to read, write and think about history
- A short guide to writing about history
- Writing about Canada: a handbook for modern Canadian History
- Writing History: a guide for Canadian students
Citation Guides
Citation Management Tools
- See the Citation Management web page
