FSCI 198 Climate Crisis and Climate Actions

Please note that resources are listed alphabetically within each section

Article Databases

• CAB Abstracts This link opens in a new window- - Covers the significant research and development literature in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and the management and conservation of natural resources (1973-current)
• GeoScienceWorld (subject-specific database) - a full text database that contains the journals published by leading geoscience societies; also includes the GeoRef database

• Scopus (multidisciplinary database) - provides references to journal articles and conference papers, as well as contains information about how many times an article has been cited and who cited it
• Web of Science (multidisciplinary database) - provides references to journal articles and conference papers, as well as contains information about how many times an article has been cited and who cited it

Government and International Organizations Resources and Data

Canadian Government

• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Government of Quebec - Climate Change

International Organizations

• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• NASA Global Climate Change
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal
• World Health Organization
• World Resources Institute - Climate Watch

Indigenous Resources

• Elements of Indigenous Style - This guide contains: A historical overview of the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in literature; Common errors and how to avoid them when writing about Indigenous peoples; Guidance on working in a culturally sensitive way; A discussion of problematic and preferred terminology; Suggestions for editorial guidelines. The author, Gregory Younging, is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba.
• Firelight Group - This Indigenous-owned and led group provides a range of research, engagement, negotiations, advisory, and training services to support the rights and interests of Indigenous and local governments in Canada and across Turtle Island. Key areas of research include environmental impact assessment, Indigenous knowledge research, impact benefit agreement negotiation, ecology, Mapping/GIS, planning and implementation, health, and socio-economics. They have a number of publications that are free to download.
• Indigenous Climate Action - Indigenous Climate Action is an Indigenous-led organization guided by a diverse group of Indigenous knowledge keepers, water protectors and land defenders that works on connecting and supporting Indigenous communities to reinforce our place as leaders driving climate change solutions for today and tomorrow. Includes a number of publications and reports.
• Indigenous People's and Environmental (In)Justice - This Indigenous-led project seeks to understand how Indigenous knowledge of the natural environment can help us respond to climate change. Includes videos, podcasts, publications and resources.
• Indigenous Studies Subject Guide - A research guide for finding high-quality resources about Indigenous topics. Includes information on finding Indigenous Perspectives.
• NDN - NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Includes information on their climate justice campaigns.

Newspapers

• Newspapers Subject Guide - Information on finding current and historical national and international newspapers, as well as Indigenous news sources.

Other Resources

• Aboriginal Law Subject Guide - Includes databases and websites relevant for research in Aboriginal law. Aboriginal law is the body of Canadian law that explores issues related to Indigenous peoples in Canada.
• Audio and Visual Materials - This guide gives tips on how to find individual titles in the Library catalogue, or through an aggregator.
• Canadian Law Subject Guide - Databases and websites relevant for research in Canadian law
• Indigenous Law / Indigenous Legal Traditions - From the University of Victoria Libraries, this guide looks at Indigenous legal traditions created by Indigenous legal orders. Indigenous law refers to the legal traditions, customs and practices of Indigenous peoples and groups.
• Maps and Geospatial Data Subject Guide - Includes links to resources for climate data, forestry and ecology, and much more
• McGill's Geographic Information Centre - The GIC (located on the 5th floor of Burnside) has specialized GIS equipment, offers numerous workshops, and provides online tutorials for accessing and analyzing GIS data. 
• Research for the Front Lines - An organization that connects grassroots communities on the front lines of the fight for environmental and climate justice in Canada with researchers who have skills, time, and labour to offer. Includes information on projects and publications as well as a workshop on Indigenous Research Resources.

This section includes 4 short videos that explain the basic search process, from how to find a database related to your field to how to create more complex search queries. A written summary is given next to each video. If you need help with your research, don't hesitate to contact me, I am here to help you!

This video will show you how to locate and access databases using subject or course guides, Databases A-Z, and the McGill catalogue.

1. Formulate a specific research question.
2. Identify the main concepts.
3. Brainstorm synonyms and related terms for each of your concepts.
 

Boolean operators are used to narrow or broaden your search.

AND: results include all keywords (used to narrow a search)
Example: "climate change" AND Canada AND Indigenous
Search results will contain all three terms.

OR: results include any or all keywords (used to broaden a search)
Example: Canada OR Quebec OR Abitibi
Search results will contain any of these terms.

NOT: results ignore a keyword (used to narrow a search)
Example: Turkey NOT Thanksgiving
Search results will exclude articles containing Thanksgiving.

Be careful when using the NOT operator - you could unintentionally exclude useful results!

Truncation (*): used to search variations on a word stem.
Example: Canad*
Search results will include Canada, Canadian, Canadians.
Be careful with truncation as it may yield results that contain unrelated words. Example: leg*
Search results will include leg, legs, legging, legal, legalized, etc.

Phrase searching (“”): used to search for an exact phrase or a concept containing more than one word.
Example: “climate change”
Search results will include the exact phrase, with the keywords next to each other and in the order they are typed.
Climate change (without quotation marks) will be searched as separate keywords.

Parentheses (): used to control the order in which Boolean operators are resolved. Operations within parentheses are resolved first followed by those outside the parentheses.

Use this Search Strategy Builder from the University of Arizona Libraries.

You can also use the Search Plan handout linked below.