- Welcome
- Books
- Journal Articles
- Databases
- Journals
- Archives & Primary Sources
- Data & Statistics
- Government Information
- Laws & Legislation
- Maps & GIS
- Media
- Websites
- Writing & Citing
Welcome
Use this guide to begin your research or book an appointment with Martha Attridge Bufton (martha_attridge_bufton@carleton.ca), your subject specialist. Martha can help you find the research materials you need to complete your assignments and papers.
See the side menu to contact Martha.
- Beware filter bubbles
- CRAP test (finding the right information)
- Instructional videos including how to find articles in CBCA Complete and CPIQ (Canadian content)
- Search faster, search smarter
- Scholarly publishing
Heritage conservation: Course guide for CDNS 2400
Dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks are a good place to start. They provide short definitions and introductions to key concepts.
Dictionaries
- The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- Les Dictionnaires de la langue Française au Québec: de la Nouvelle-
France à Aujourd'hui
Encyclopedias
- The Canadian Encyclopedia: Year 2000 Edition
- Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
Handbooks
Books
Use keywords to find books, government documents and films. For more materials, click on the subject headings to continue your search.
Here are some library books related to Canadian studies:
- Child poverty in Canada
- Climate change in Canada
- Economic rights in Canada and the United States
- Group politics and social movements in Canada
- Women and electoral politics in Canada
Save search alerts: save your favorite search terms
Journal Articles
These three databases significant Canadian content. America History and Life contains citations and abstracts to articles from journals in all areas of Canadian and U.S. history
Click on "Databases" for other databases to find more articles related to your topic.
Databases
Journals
Canadian Studies professors recommend the following journals. Some are available only in print; others are available in print and electronic format.
- Acadiensis
- American Review of Canadian Studies
- Archivaria
- British Journal of Canadian Studies
- Canadian Ethnic Studies
- Canadian Historical Review
- Canadian Journal of Communication
- Canadian Journal of Native Studies
- Canadian Journal of Political Science
- Canadian Journal of Sociology
- Globe: revue internationale d'etudes quebecoises
- History and Memory
- International Journal of Canadian Studies
- Journal of Canadian Studies
- Journal of the Canadian Historical Association
- Labour/Le Travail
- Revista Mexicana de Estudios Canadienses (Mexican Journal of Canadian Studies)
- Social History
- Southern Journal of Canadian Studies
- Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Archives & Primary Sources
If your research has an historical component, you may want to consult the following archives for primary and secondary sources:
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has a collection comprised of materials in all media (e.g., books, maps, films and music) from across the country, as well as records and publications of Canadian interest from outside the country. Special collections include:
- The Aboriginal Resources and Services Portal which links you to resources created by or about Aboriginal peoples in Canada from private and government sources.
- Ethno-Cultural Groups
Carleton University Archives and Research Collections (ARC)
ARC has rare books related to Canada such as:
- The backwoods of Canada by Catherine Parr Traill
- Canada - U.S. diplomacy [Sound recording]
- Patriation of the Constitution of Canada, 1982: a pictorial record
- Treasures of the National Archives of Canada
Special collections include:
- George Bemi - Ottawa post-war architect
- John Hobbs - Peterborough heritage building restoration architect
- Herb Stovel - Carleton University Canadian Studies professor, consultant, and advisor in heritage conservation
- Heritage Canada Foundation - Canadian organization with built heritage programming since 1973
Data & Statistics
Federal
- Aboriginal Peoples Survey (Statistics Canada)
- Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure Initiative (ODESI)
You can find data files from the humanities and social sciences as well as other data-related services at the Carleton University library's Data Centre.
Federal
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Statistics and Data
- Canadian Statistics (access to an overview of statistical information on Canada’s people, economy and governments)
- Census information
- Community Information Database (based on census data, provides socioeconomic and demographic data and information for all Canadian communities)
- Justice statistics Beyond 2020 tables
- Statistics Canada
- Statistics Canada Health Indicators
Provincial
Government Information
To find government policies, check the following:
- Canadian Heritage. Click on "Cultural diversity and rights" in the left-hand menu, then "HUman Rights" and then "Canada's Reports to the UN" which is the middle section of the page. These reports detail government policies and activities (federal and provincial) related to a number of important international treaties and, in particular, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Click on "publications and resources" in the left-hand menu and then either audit reports or evaluation reports.
- Office of the Auditor General of Canada. The OAG publishes reports that evaluation government policies and programs. You can also search the websites of the provincial offices of the auditor general.
- Library of Parliament of Canada. The library produces publications on policy issues and you can search the site for your topic.
- Search the Canadian Government Policy Cycle subject guide. In particular, the section on Action introduces you to the variety of ways that the Canadian government can implement policy.
- Search both the Canadian Research Index and the Canadian Public Policy Collection which are specialized databases.
- Search our catalogue: do a keyword search and choose "government documents" for the location of the materials.
- Find government information online using the library's customized Google search. You can sort the rersults by level of government (federal, provincial, municipal).
In addition, here is a short list of Canadian federal departments and agencies:
- Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- Correctional Service of Canada
- Department of Canadian Heritage
- Department of Finance (including Canadian government budgets)
- Department of Justice
- Environment Canada
- Government of Canada
- Health Canada
- Health Canada National Anti-Drug Strategy
- Health Canada Seniors
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)
- HRSDC Income Security Programs
- HRSDC Indicators of Well-being
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- Parliament of Canada
Federal responsibilities include making laws "for the peace, order and good government of Canada,” except for those assigned to the provincial governments including:
- direct taxation in the province for provincial purposes
- natural resources
- prisons (except penitentiaries)
- education
- hospitals
Laws & Legislation
- Justice Laws (consolidated statutes)
Other federal legislation
- Ontario E-Laws
- Quebec Laws & Regulations
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII): for all provinces
Maps & GIS
The Maps, Data and Government Information (MADGIC) section of the library offers online and print maps on a variety of topics including:
Atlas of Canada (online)
Atlas of the risk of homelessness
The Canadian Communities Atlas Project
Rand McNally the road atlas and travel guide 2009: United States/Canada/Mexico
World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Atlas
Websites
- Historical Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project
An ongoing project intended to make the maps and data generated for the Historical Atlas of Canada available to a wider audience online. For best results, use the "Site Map" to navigate resources currently available. - Mapping Canada: An Historical Perspective
A series of maps provided by Canadian Geographic tracing the history of Canada beginning with the period 1770.
GeoGratis
GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada which provides free geospatial data and without restrictions via your Web browser.
Visit the Geographical Information System (GIS) section of MADGIC for more GIS information.
Media
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collections include:
- Aboriginal peoples
- Canada's Digital Collections (operated from 1996 to 2004 by Industry Canada and archived at LAC)
- Ethnocultural groups
- Images Canada. This database provides access to images held at several participating Canadian cultural institutions.
- National Gallery of Canada: click on CyberMuse
- Photographs
- Portrait Gallery of Canada
- Virtual Museum of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada's online screening room allows you to watch hundreds of films free online documentaries, animated and alternatiave drama films.
Carleton University film collection
Our collection contains many films related to Canada including:
- Democracy 4 dummies is a satirical how-to documentary that follows the grassroots of a Montreal Green Party candidate.
- H2Oil. This documentary discusses the supply of oil to the United States from Canadas oil sands.
- Home safe Toronto. Home safe Toronto is the second in the SkyWorks series of documentaries that deals with how Canadian families with children live with the threat and the experience of homelessness.
- Referendum, take two/prise. Explores the role that the issues of sovereignty, language and the meaning of what it means to be Canadian or Québeçois play in people's everyday lives.
- Who gets in? This documentary, shot in Canada, Africa and Hong Kong, shows how people try to immigrate to Canada for various reasons and the nature of Canadian immigration policy.
Websites
University of Minnesota assignment calculator
General Gateways
- Academic Info: Canadian Studies. An annotated directory of online resources on Canada that provides links to law and government, special collections and museums, First Nations, history, religion, anthropology and archaeology.
- Canada Internet Resources (University of California, Berkeley)
- Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources
- Canadian Information By Subject (Library and Archives Canada)
- Canadiana: The Canadian Resource Page (Carnegie Mellon University)
- CanLinks: Directory of web resources relevant to Canadian studies
- Oh Canada! Homepage (University of Alberta)
- Online Resources for Canadian Heritage (Canadian Museum of Civilization)
- Historica Dominion Institute.
- Virtual Museum of Canada
- ZCommunications
Centres for research and associations
- Association for Canadian Studies
Canadian Index of Wellbeing This index charts how Canadians' lives are getting better – or worse – in areas such as health, standard of living, quality of the environment, education and skills, community vitality and civic engagement. - Canadian Studies Associations and Organizations (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada)
- International Council for Canadian Studies
Special Topics
Aboriginal (Native) Studies (see also the Aboriginal Studies subject guide on the library's website)
- Aboriginal Canada Portal
- Academic Info: Canadian First Nations
- Cree-Innu LInguistic Atlas (an online, multimedia linguistic atlas of Canadian Cree dialects)
- The First Perspective (news of Canadian indigenous peoples)
- Native Drums
- Native Dance
- Path of the Elder
- The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture
Art History
- The Art History Research Centre (Concordia University)
- Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art (McGill University)
Cultural Studies
- Canada Council for the Arts - Le conseil des arts du Canada
- Culture Canada
- Guide culturel (Radio-Canada cultural magazine)
Provides links to French books, music, visual arts, media, performing arts, and culture and society.
Film (see also the Images & Video tab)
Heritage Conservation
- The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario
- Canadian Conservation Institute
- Canadian Heritage
- Getty Conservation Instutute
- Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (United States)
- Heritage Canada Foundation (includes links to the foundation's magazine)
- Heritage Conservation Act (Canada)
- World Heritage Centre
- International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
- International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- National Heritage Areas (United States)
- Standards and Guidelines for the Conversation of Historic Places in Canada
- UNESCO Cultural Heritage Laws Database
- U.S. assistance to world heritage sites
- U.S. Green Building Council (LEED)
History: Archives and historical reproductions
- Archives of Ontario. Includes links to other provincial archives.
- CanText eLibrary: Canadian Documents Collection. A collection of original sources which includes the texts of a variety of Canadian documents.
- Our Roots/Nos Racines: The Canadian Digital Local Histories Site. A collection of digitized local histories that includes a wide variety of personal and municipal documents.
History: General Resources
Impact of the Internet
- World Internet Project (click through the pages to the CIP - Canada Report Launch)
Literature
Northwest Passages - Canadian Literature Online
- A collection of links to a wide variety of sources for Canadian Literature.
- Multicultural History Society
- Multiculturalism (Citizenship and Immigration Canada)
Québec
- Actualité Francophone Plus
- La Toile du Québec. A regional search engine and directory that focuses on resources from and about Québec.
- Québec 2001: Annuaire Politique, Social, Economique et Culturel
Writing & Citing
Copies of the most recent versions of the major academic style manuals (e.g., APA, MLA, Turabian) are available at the Research Help Desk (2nd floor, MacOdrum Library).
Guides to citing online materials
The Columbia Guide to Online Style. 2006
Recommended websites
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