This guide is intended as a "starting point" for Environmental Studies students.
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 extra help, click on Choosing an essay topic
- Developing strong research questions
- Do some background reading on your topic using Wikipedia; watch the Using Wikipedia wisely video
Key environmental sources:
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- Companion to environmental studies
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- Dictionary of Environment and Conservation
- Environment and Society: a critical introduction
- Environmental Encyclopedia
- Green Cities
- Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity
- Research methods for environmental studies: a social science approach
- Roadmap for global sustainability: rise of the green communities
Search Omni, the library's main search box to find books and peer-reviewed journal articles on any topic. Remember to refine your search by selecting the following options: Peer-Reviewed Journals, Articles and Subject (optional). For more help, use the Omni Search Tips
Search subject-specific databases to find journal articles. They offer many advanced search features and offer a more focused search.
Recommend databases for Environmental Studies:
- Academic Onefile
- Canadian Business and Current Affairs
- Environment Index
- GEOBASE
- GreenFile
- Scopus
- TRID Transportation Research
- Web of Science
Key Environment Journals:
- Alternatives Journal
- Ambio: a journal of the human environment
- Canadian Journal of Environmental Education
- Directory of Open Access Journals ( DOAJ)
- Environments
- Environmental Politics
- Ethics and the Environment
- Journal of Environment and Development
- Local Environment
- Nature
- Society and Space (Environment and Planning D)
Dissertations:
Dissertations and Theses Global
Recommended books:
- Comprehensive environmental studies
- Environmental Indicators
- Green Planet Blues: crticial perspectives on global environmental politics
- Interdisciplinary teaching about earth and the environment for a sustainable future
- There's something in the water: environmental racism in indigenous and black communities (print only)
- University initiatives in climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Vital Signs: trends that are shaping our future
Government & Intergovernmental Information:
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry
- Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- International Environmental Agreements Database (U of Oregon)
- IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature (search "environmental impact assessment" for reports
- Natural Resources Canada
- OECD Environmental Policy Tools and Evaluation
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- United Nations Environment Program
Useful web sites:
- Data Basin
- GEO Data Portal (UNEP)
- Geofolio - let's you create thematic factsheets with information on vegetation, agriculture, soils, weather, climate, etc.
- Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory
- EnviroStats (Stats Can)
- Human Activity and the Environment (Stats Can)
- Scholars GeoPortal
Click here for more Canadian data
Click here to find Maps
Click here for GIS Help
Citing:
- APA Citation Style web guide for basic instructions
- Citing your sources
- OWL Purdue Online Writing lab for APA
Referencing your sources is an important part of academic writing. Why?
- it lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others if you use them in your work
- it helps you to avoid plagiarism
- it demonstrates that you are using the scholarly record and that you can provide authority for statements you make in your term paper
- it enables readers to find the source information
Writing Guides:
- Writing Services offers students help with learning the mechanics of academic writing
- Communicating in geography and environmental sciences e-book
- Doing your undergraduate project e-book
