This guide is intended as a starting point for students. Contact Susan Tudin, Geography and Environmental Studies Subject Specialist, for online or email consultations.
Welcome
Your assignments at university are an invitation to join a scholarly conversation by exploring topics in depth, formulating a unique research question, examining the research of others along with primary sources, building an argument, and drawing your own conclusions. A good research topic is one that sparks your interest and allows you to ask new questions in order to find meaningful answers. This guide is intended to help you get started.
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
- 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
- Roadmap for global sustainability: rise of the green communities
Search Omni, the library's main search box to easily find peer-reviewed journal articles on any topic. Remember to refine your search by selecting the following options: Peer-Reviewed Journals, Articles and Subject (optional) to obtain high quality, academic literature. For more help, use the Omni Search Tips
Recommended databases for environmental studies:
- Academic Onefile
- Canadian Business and Current Affairs
- Environment Index
- GEOBASE
- GreenFile
- Scopus
- TRID Transportation Research
- Web of Science
For more databases, browse the databases by subject list.
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)
Note: If the library does not have what you need, you can order books and/or journal articles from other libraries through RACER. If you are a first time user, you must register first before you can start using it.
Recommended books:
- Environmental Indicators
- Green Planet Blues: crticial perspectives on global environmental politics
- There's something in the water: environmental racism in indigenous and black communities
- University initiatives in climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Vital Signs
- World Changing: A User's Guide for the 21st Century (print only)
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
Writing Guides:
- Communicating in geography and environmental sciences
- Making Sense; a student's guide to research and writing: geography and environmental sciences (print only)
- Research methods for environmental studies: a social science approach (print only)
- Writing an annotated bibliography: link to the Youtube video or web page for instructions
- Writing the research paper: link to the Youtube video
- Writing Services is located on the 4th floor of the library and offers students help with learning the mechanics of academic writing.
Citing:
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
Geographers most often use APA citation style:
- Link to APA Citation Style web guide for basic instructions
- OWL Purdue APA Guide
- Citing your sources web page for information on all citation styles
- Citing data, statistics, maps and government information
