Reference materials are an excellent starting point for acquiring a broad overview of your topic. They are reserved for in-library use only. Depending on your topic, you may want to consult the following tools:
Canadian Almanac & Directory
Annual guide to Canadian information, including a government directory and a Web site directory.
REF 971.0025 CAN [Annual]
DIRECTORIES
Canadian Directory to Foundations & Grants
A listing of the family, corporate, community, and special interest foundations whose main activity is grant-making.
REF 001.44 CAN 2 vols
Lac La Biche County Community Services Directory - brief profiles and contact information for programs, support, and services for communities within Lac La Biche County
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopedia of social work [3 volumes]
REF 361.003 ENC 1995
Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol
A comprehensive source of information on the general topic of substance use and abuse.
REF 362.29 ENC 4 vols
MISCELLANEOUS GUIDES
Native Law
A guide to Native law in Canada. Useful for topics dealing with aboriginal rights, culture and religion, criminal law, etc.
REF 342.0872 WOO1989
Oxford English Dictionary Online
If off-campus, contact Public Services Librarian for username/password.
GENERAL COLLECTION
Online catalogue & Library of Congress Subject Headings
The Online catalogue is the Library's computerized catalogue. It is the listing of books, videos, and journals available in the Library. You can locate material on specific topics by performing a Subject Heading search. Portage College Library uses Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Some sample headings for Social Work you can perform a search on in the Online catalogue:
Child abuse
Community development
Counseling
Drug abuse
Family
Juvenile delinquency
Sociology
Suicide
Wife abuse
The Library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification System to group books and videos together by subject on the library shelves. The call number on the Online catalogue corresponds to the number on the label on the spine of the book (e.g. 155.4 BEE).
Examples
362 - Social welfare problems & services
PERIODICALS: MAGAZINES, JOURNALS, NEWSPAPERS
Periodicals are published at regular intervals, generally more frequently than annually. Each issue is numbered and/or dated consecutively, and normally contains separate articles, stories, or other writings. Scanning current issues of periodicals in your subject area can be useful when you are trying to think of a topic.
Journal of applied behavior analysis
Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
The Globe and Mail
ELECTRONIC DATABASES
An electronic database is used to find articles in magazines, journals and newspapers. Portage Library subscribes to a number of Web-based electronic databases. For a complete listing of these databases, please see the Articles page and consult with a library staff on the appropriate database(s) to use for your research needs. The databases that you will find useful for your studies are:
Academic OneFile has extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. With millions of articles available researchers are able to find accurate information quickly. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995. Updated daily. Academic Search Complete is the world's most comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 4,600 peer-reviewed journals. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887. Health Reference Centre Academic MasterFILE Premier SocINDEX with Full Text features more than 1,660,000 records with subject headings from a 19,300 term sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers. SocINDEX with Full Text contains full text for 344 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895. This database also includes full text for more than 700 books and monographs, and full text for 6,800 conference papers. E-BOOKS Search Credo Reference under "Social Sciences" in the drop down menu. Access to databases is restricted to the Portage College students, faculty and staff. WEB SITES Access to Justice Network Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Social Work Access Network (SWAN) Statistics Canada WWW Virtual Library: Sociology A Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace The SocioWeb Social Psychology Network Sociology of Right
Use this database to find articles on topics such as fitness, pregnancy, medicine, nutrition, diseases, public health, occupational health and safety, alcohol and drug abuse, HMOs, prescription drugs, etc. Full-text articles are available.
Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, biographies, primary source documents, and an Image Collection of photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily.
The Internet is a rich source of material. The sites listed here are just a starting point. If you are looking for a specific topic, try typing keywords into one of the basic search tools such as Yahoo, AltaVista, Google, etc.
An electronic community dedicated to making law and justice resources available to Canadians. Browse by subject, including Aboriginal Peoples, elder abuse, family violence, social services, etc.
Includes links to information on drug abuse, gambling addiction, and fetal alcohol syndrome.
Provides access to legislation and bills, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, treaties, etc.
University of South Carolina College of Social Work site providing links to social work topics, publications, list servs, search engines, Internet guides, etc.
A variety of statistical data, including population traits and trends, justice and crime, government, and profiles of Canadian communities.
A page of key links for Sociology compiled by subject experts. Includes links to departments, associations, news groups, and electronic journals.
This site features commentary, data analyses (hey, we've become a "factoid" culture), occasional essays, as well as the requisite links, put together for courses taught by Professor Michael C. Kearl and his colleagues. Additions and updates are made daily.
Your Independent Guide to Sociological Resources on the Internet.
The largest social psychology database on the Internet. In these pages, you'll find more than 5,000 links related to psychology.
Provides information on different aspects of civil rights in society.
ALMANACS AND YEARBOOKS
Canada Year Book
Annual source of statistics and political, social and economic information.
REF 317.1 CAN [Annual]
