External Resources:

• Reference tools: Wikipedia is notoriously undependable. Here are some dependable encyclopedias for searching basic information on topics that may appear in your course readings.

• Secondary Sources: Locating published material for a research paper.

• Primary Sources: A list of possible primary sources for research papers. You can also find material at the provincial and city archives in Alberta (Archives in Alberta).

• Writing Tips: A list of the most common writing and presentation errors in research papers. An additional resource, presented in an easy to understand and accessible format, is Acadia University's The English Department's Ten Most Wanted.

• External Research tools: External links to some of the best on-line research tools for Canadian studies.

• Academic Journals [Human Rights and Canadian History and Social Movements]: A list of academic journals. You can access the articles published in most of these journals through the library catalogue (search the name of the journal).

• Further Reading: In addition to the bibliographic lists that may be available on the home page of the course website, this site includes lists of readings on topics such as human rights (theory & Canadian history), social movements, October Crisis, Gouzenko affair and others.

Reference Tools

[If there is no direct link below, you need to access the resource directly through the library catalogue. Use the "Databases" link on the library homepage]:

• Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Encyclopedia of British Columbia
• Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Oxford Reference Online Premium
• Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Canadian Encyclopedia
• Economist Historical Archive
• Oxford Encyclopedia of Human Rights

Secondary Sources

• Library Catalogue
• Academic journals (articles)
• Databases for searching articles

• Bibliographies: One of the best methods for finding secondary sources on a particular topic is the bibliography included in a book (although not all books have bibliographies).
• Citations: Footnotes or endnotes in an article or book is another rich resource for identifying secondary sources.

Some books and/or articles can be ordered by inter-library loan. You can search for available materials through the Library and Archives of Canada. You will need at least a couple of weeks to order the materials.

Archives in Alberta:

• University of Alberta Archives
• Provincial Archives of Alberta
• Legal Archives Society of Alberta
• Glenbow Archives
• City of Edmonton Archives

Some primary materials can be ordered by inter-library loan. You can search for available materials through the Library and Archives of Canada (search the archives and library databases). You will need at least a couple of weeks to order the materials.

Primary Sources for Research

The following list is NOT exhaustive. Still, it is a place to begin. Some of these sources may be useful in preparing a term paper depending on the topic, time period, scope, etc...

See, as well, the list of on-line reserch tools.

• Newspapers (New York Times; Globe and Mail; Vancouver Sun; Guardian; Le Monde; local papers; etc…).
• Magazines (Time; Macleans; Saturday Night; Newsweek; Economist; etc…)
• Hansard (federal) or Debates of the Legislature: Verbatim minutes of debates in the legislatures and Parliament (the latter is called Hansard). These sources have topic and date indexes.
• Judicial decisions (Law Library): Judges provide written judgements, and these judgements are available in various reference books (e.g., Supreme Court of Canada Reports or Criminal Law Reports).
• Internet sites for advocacy groups (position papers, profiles, briefs, reports, statistics, etc).
• Philip B Kurland and Gerhard Casper, eds., Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States (copies of briefs presented by various interest groups to the United States Supreme Court).
• Archived papers of advocacy groups (search city and provincial archives for available papers).
• Annual reports of government ministries (for instance, search 'Department of Labour' under author in the library catalogue to find the department's official annual report).
• Provincial and federal Human Rights Commissions, Annual Report
• Statutes: The Law Library has a complete collection of every piece of legislation passed in Canada (provinces and federal), as well as numerous countries around the world.
• Oral histories (interviews).
• Newsletters and other publications by advocacy groups, think tanks, etc… Many of these documents can be found on the organization's website.
• Royal Commission reports by the federal and provincial governments.
• Canadian census.
• Statistics Canada (website and published reports).
• University of Alberta Data Library

Writing Tips:

Here are common mistakes to avoid when writing papers:

• Common writing mistakes in papers include: modifiers, passive voice, run-on sentences, fragments, etc... (see Top Ten).

• A surprising number of research papers, even in senior-level university courses, lack a thesis. Remember, there is an important distinction between stating your argument and the topic. For instance, to state in your introduction that you will explore the history of the October Crisis is NOT an argument - it is simply a statement of your topic.
• Speculation makes for a poor paper. Provide sufficient support for any claims or arguments put forth in your paper.
• Avoid repetition. Make your point and move-on. A good paper is concise and efficient.
• The introduction is arguably the most important part of paper. A good introduction sets the tone for the whole paper, and can offer a  'road map' for your readers so they know how the paper will unfold.
• Use your conclusion to summarize your key points and core thesis, not to introduce new ideas. And avoid beginning your conclusion with 'in conclusion' - it sounds awkward and forced.

• Do not cite lecture notes.
• Avoid the use of first person.
• Use a consistent citation style.
• Avoid colloquialisms.
• Spell out acronyms the first time they are used.
• Dates should be formatted as follows: 16 October 1970.
• Separate large quotes from the text and indent them without using quotation marks.
• Provide short background information on individuals (e.g, Jane Doe, a prominent Toronto lawyer,  was responsible for...).
• Avoid repetitive statements or using the same word more than once in a sentence.
• Use 'percent' instead of using %
• Identify an individual's partisan affiliation when referring to political figures.
• i.e. (that is...) or e.g. (for example)

• Endnotes: begin the citations on a new page (not the same page where the text ends) and add a header (e.g., Endnotes or Notes ). 
• Do not use contractions (e.g., don't).
• Number your pages, have a title page, and include a bibliography or list of works cited.
• When using footnotes or endnotes, the author's first name comes first; in a bibliography or works cited, their last name comes first.
• If you are citing an internet site, be sure the URL works and is not too long (one alternative is to provide the primary URL, and then indicate the properly hyperlink or search term in the citation).

Stephen Kuntz (University of Alberta Writing Centre) has provided the following brief exercise to review your writing skills.

A good book for writing tips and rules is: Joanne Buckley. Fit To Print. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 2009. (or an earlier edition). [LB 2369 B83 2009].