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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.
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
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Use this worksheet to write out your research topic and identify key ideas.
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 evalute the quality of online sources.
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
- Use the Child Studies Quick Guide for a list of the top five (5) databases.
- Use Scopus for multidisciplinary social science research and citation chaining.
- For historical representations of childhood: America History and Life (Canada and the U.S.) or Historical Abstracts.
- For human rights related materials:
- Defence for Children International
- HuriSearch, a human rights search engine
- The Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights.
- Save the Children
- United Nations High Commission for Human Rights: Committee on the Rights of the Child
- For disability related materials, visit the Disability Studies subject guide.
- For education related materials, try ERIC.
Images
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Finding and using images: a Carleton University library guide (including how to cite images you use in projects and presentations)
Digital archive collections of children's books
- Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature
- Children's Literature (University of Illinois)
- Children's Literature Research Collections (University of Minnesota)
Open Access journals
Recommended peer-review journals in our library collection
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Childhood
- Children's Legal Rights Journal
- Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures
- Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth
- Childhood in Africa
- Children & Society
- Children's Geographies
- Children's Literature
- Girlhood Studies
- Global Studies of Childhood
- International Journal of Children's Rights
- International Journal of Inclusive Education
- International Journal of Law and the Family
- Journal of LGBT Youth
- Journal of Language and Politics
- Social Problems
- The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Peer-reviewed journals related to child development and psychology
- Canadian Journal of Children's Rights (Landon Pearson Resource Centre)
- Developmental Science
- Developmental Neuropsychology
- Child Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychological Science
- Nature
- Science
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
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 and play
- Every image, every child. Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse in Canada
- Developmental milestones of young children
- Child development at the intersection of emotion and cognition
- Media and youth: a developmental perspective
- Peer groups and children's development
- The development of shyness and social withdrawal
- Rethinking learning disabilities: understanding children who struggle in school
- Researching IT in education: theory, practice and future directions
- Views on positive parenting and non-violent upbringing: a report from the Consultation with Children and Parents, Strasbourg, October 2005
Use your library account to save searches
- Save your favorite searches for easy reference so that you can run these searches on demand.
- Receive email search alerts when material has been added to the collection matching your preferred searches.
How?
- Log into your library account and search the catalogue. Click on the Save Search option to save a search.
- Return to your account.
- Click on the Saved Searches button to view your preferred search list. If no Saved Searches button displays, you have not yet saved any searches.
- To receive alerts when new material arrives, click on Mark for Email.
- To run the search on demand, use the link in the Search column.
- To remove searches from your list, use the boxes in the Mark to Remove column , and then click on "update list."
Find government and non-governmental information
- Use the library's customized Google search to find government information online (sort results by level of government).
- Canadian Heritage. Click on "Canadian Identity" in the top navigation bar, then under "Cultural Diversity," click on "Human Rights." Find the list of of Canada's Reports to the UN that detail government policies and activities (federal and provincial) related to important international treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Library of Parliament of Canada (use library publications on policy issues).
- Early Childhood Development (Canadian intergovernmental program)
- Employment and Social Development Canada: Early Childhood
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Community Action Program for Children
- 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:
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Health Canada
- Health Canada National Anti-Drug Strategy
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Childhood and Adolescence
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Safe, Health Environments
Find federal legislation
- Justice Laws (consolidated statutes)
- Young Offenders Act
- Youth Criminal Justice Act
Other federal legislation
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Canadian Human Rights Act
- Constitution of 1867
- Criminal Code
Find Ontario legislation
- Child and Family Services Act (Ontario)
- Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 (Ontario)
- Ontario Disability Support Program Act (Ontario)
- Ministry of Health and Long-term Care
- Ministry of the Attorney General (family law)
For other legislation, use:
- Ontario E-Laws
- Quebec Laws & Regulations
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII): for all provinces
Federal statistics
- Statistics Canada
- Community Information Database (based on census data: socioeconomic and demographic data and information for all Canadian communities)
Provincial
- Alberta Official Statistics
- British Columbia Statistics (BCStats)
- Institute de la statistique du Québec
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency
- Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics
- Nunavut Bureau of Statistics
- Ontario
- Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics
- Yukon Bureau of Statistics
Use our Citing your sources page to link to our APA guide, instructional videos and more.
