Childhood and Youth Studies

Pîjashig Kwe kwe! Tunngahugit! She:kon! Aanii! Boozhoo! Tansi! Taanishi! Hello! Bienvenue!
The MacOdrum Library is located on the unceded territories of the Algonquin nation. Use this guide to begin your research and consult Martha Attridge Bufton, who can help you find the materials you need to complete your assignments.

Start your research

Meet Martha Attridge Bufton in the following video.

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. For example, Canada or another country? Children or adults? Education or child protection services?

Identify key concepts

Do an initial search for academic sources

  • Here are some videos to help you pick the right search engines and sources for your assignment.
    • Beware of filter bubbles:  What to know about Google and filtered information.
    • Search faster, search smarter: How to search using your key concepts.

  • Use the CRAP test to evaluate the quality of online sources.

 

Find open educational resources (OERs) and electronic resources

Open educational resources 

Open education resources (OERs) include open textbooks that could be used for courses. Here are three collections that could be useful:

Choosing the right OER is critical. Use the College Libraries Ontario OER toolkit to assess if OERs are appropriate for your teaching and learning context.

Electronic resources

Many digital and electronic resources are available through the library.

To retrieve these materials with a keyword search in the library main search engine or other databases:

  • To find ebooks, use the "available online" and "books" filters in Omni.
  • To find journal articles
    • Use the "available online" and "articles" filters in Omni
    • Use the "linked to full text" filter in other databases.

Watch the two short videos below for instructions on how to use these filters.

  • Click on the Journals link under the main search field on the library home page. Use the "available online" option when available to access the digital or electronic version of a journal article.

Transcript: Finding electronic resources in the main search engine of the Carleton University Library

Transcript: Finding full-text peer reviewed journal articles in a library database

In addition, virtual research support is also available:

  • Ask a Librarian offers virtual reference desk services seven days a week.
  • Individual consultations: Email your librarian or subject specialists to arrange an individual consultation via Big Blue Button.

Looking for digital or electronic materials that are not in the Carleton University Library Collection? Email your librarian or subject specialist.

Find peer-reviewed journal articles, images, & digital collections

Citation chaining made easy

Popular versus academic sources (what's the difference?) and the peer review process

Searching tips: Truncation and phrase searching

Test what you know: Play Sources (or Find that source)!

Find peer-reviewed journal articles on a variety of topics

Images

Digital archive collections of children's books

Open Access journals

Recommended peer-review journals in our library collection

Peer-reviewed journals related to child development and psychology

Some publications are available either only in print or online. Others are available in both formats. Check Ulrich'sWeb for more information about individual journals.

Find books, ebooks, & audio books (including children's literature)

Find books

In the search field on the library home page, use keywords to find books and ebooks (i.e., use your key concepts to search for relevant materials).

A sample of child development and child studies related library books (in print)

Children's literature (print and audiobooks)

The library has a growing collection of children's books, both classic and traditional. Many of these books are located on the third floor, in the PZ section. We also have a collection of audiobooks, which also contains children's classics such as Anne of Green Gables. To search for more audiobooks, use the RBDigital database.

Our contemporary titles are collected across six major themes:

  • Disability and childhood
  • Indigenous children and communities
  • LGBTQ2+
  • Race
  • Sex education
  • Transnational childhood

Here is a list of contemporary children's books (with call numbers) that are currently in the collection. In addition, here is a list of recommended books (Fall 2020).

Find government documents, statistics, & legislation

Find government information

Find government and non-governmental information

  1. Canadian Heritage.  
  2. Library of Parliament of Canada (use library publications on policy issues).
  3. Early Childhood Development (Canadian intergovernmental program)
  4. Employment and Social Development Canada: Early Childhood
  5. Public Health Agency of Canada: Community Action Program for Children
  6. Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights

Federal departments and agencies have programs that directly impact children and their families:

Find federal legislation

Other federal legislation

Find Ontario legislation

For other legislation, use:

Federal statistics

Provincial

Cite your sources

 Use our Citing your sources page to link to our APA guide, instructional videos and more.

Childhood and Youth Studies Quick Guide
Content last updated: January 14, 2021

Contact

Martha Attridge Bufton
Martha Attridge Bufton's picture
Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian
email