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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 contact Martha Attridge Bufton, who is available for online consultations.
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.
Reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks) can help you find a definition as well as an introductory and simple coverage of a topic. You can find these resources using the library’s search system on the home page.
Try searching using terms such as:
- dictionar* AND feminism
- encyclopedia* AND women
- Handbook AND "women's studies"
Note: When you put the quotation words around two or more words that create a single idea, you can search for materials that contain this phrase rather than for random keywords.
Here’s a sample of what you can find in the library collection:
Dictionaries
- Feminist philosophies A-Z
- Historical dictionary of feminism
- Historical dictionary of feminist philosophy
Encyclopedias
- Encyclopedia of activism and social justice
- Encyclopedia of gender and society
- The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history
- Women and equality in the workplace : A reference handbook
- The women's movement today : An encyclopedia of third-wave feminism
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)!
Databases
Use the Women and Gender Studies quick guide for a list of the top five (5) databases.
Other databases with relevant content include:
- American History and Life
- Black Women Writers
- Gender & Work Database
- Women in Politics
- Women Writers Project
Open access journals
A sample of recommended peer-review journals in our library collection
- Atlantis: A women's studies journal
- Australian feminist studies
- Berkeley journal of gender, law & justice
- Canadian journal of women and the law
- Canadian woman studies
- Differences: A journal of feminist cultural studies
- Duke journal of gender law & policy
- European journal of women's studies
- Feminism & psychology
- Feminist formations
- Feminist legal studies
- Feminist media studies
- Feminist review
- Feminist theory
- Frontiers : a journal of women studies
- Gender, place and culture : a journal of feminist geography
- Herizons: women's news and feminist views
- Hypatia
- IEEE women in engineering magazine
- International feminist journal of politics
- Jenda : A journal of culture and African women studies
- Journal of feminist family therapy
- Journal of feminist studies in religion
- Journal of interdisciplinary feminist thought
- Journal of international women's studies
- Journal of Middle East women's studies
- Journal of midwifery & women's health
- Journal of women & aging
- Journal of women's history
- Meridians : feminism, race, transnationalism
- Ms.
- Nashim : A journal of Jewish women's studies & gender issues
- NASPA journal about women in higher education
- NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies
- Outskirts : Feminisms along the edge
- Signs
- Thirdspace : the journal for emerging feminist scholars
- Women : a cultural review
- Women & criminal justice
- Women & environments international magazine
- Women & health
- Women's history review
Some publications are available either only in print or online. Others are available in both formats. Check UlrichsWeb 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).
Open Educational Resources
Open education resources (OERs) include open textbooks that could be used for courses. Here are three collections that could be useful:
- BCOpen Campus Collection
- eCampusOntario Open Library
- Mason OER Metafinder (George Mason University)
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.
- Ebooks: The library has a number of ebook collections. These collections include:
- Journal articles
- Films
- Maps
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.
Use our Citing your sources page to guides for a range of academic styles, instructional videos and more.
