Library & Archives

• The Sage Dictionary of Sport Studies (GV 567 M353 2008 Ref.)
• The Sage Dictionary of Leisure Studies (GV 11 B46 2009 Ref.)
• Dictionary of Business Terms
• OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
• Sport Canada Glossary
• Termium

• Encyclopedia of Research Design
• International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports (GV 709 I58 2001 Ref. 1 - 3)
• Statistical encyclopedia of North American professional sports: all major league teams and major non-team events year by year, 1876 through 2006 (GV 581 G37 2008 V.1 - V.4 Ref.)
• Who's Who in Canadian Sport, 4th edition (GV 697 F47 2005 Ref.)

There are two different options when searching for e-books:

1. Some may be located by using the library’s catalogue and selecting "Books & eBooks" as the "Material Type" and then further filtering your results by "Available online". 
2. Search the library's e-book collections.   Searching e-book collections is similar to searching in the catalogue.  I recommend searching either by subject or keyword.

• Some e-books can only be consulted by one searcher at a time.
• The number of pages that can be printed or downloaded from an e-book is set by the publisher.
• Some e-book collections will allow you to export your references to Zotero, a powerful, free citation manager.

Each database displays full text options differently.  To locate full text, here are some of the things to look for:

• A direct link to the html version or a PDF document.
• This enables you to find full text when available. 
• If full text is not available, you can search the library catalogue for the print-journal.
•  When you're unable to find full text online or in print, you can request the item through interlibrary loan (Racer). 

When you undertake research on the Web, it's important to critically evaluate everything you read.  These five criteria will help you determine if the information is reliable and appropriate to use for your research.

1 - Accuracy

Is the author citing their sources of information, including statistical data?  With the information provided, will you be able to verify the contents with another source?  If the author provides links to other websites, would you consider these reliable sources of information? 

As with any other source you would consult, the information provided needs to be verifiable.  If you can't verify something that is stated as fact on a website, you can safely assume that some of the information may not reliable and that you should look elsewhere. 

2 - Authority

When consulting a website, is it clear who authored the content?  Can you locate contact information?  What are the author(s) credentials?  If it's a website run by an organization or professional association, what's its mission? 

Authority is important since anyone can create content on the web.  If there is no authoring and contact information for a given website, I would recommend that you continue your search.

3 - Objectivity

Is the information on the website fact or opinion?  Can you tell if the information is biased?  If it's a controversial topic, does the website take a neutral stance or is it slanted to a particular point of view?  Are the authors trying to present opinion as fact?  Is the website sponsored?  Do ads appear on the website?  What other sites does the website link to?

Remember that just because something looks reliable on the web, it may be slanted towards a group's or company's own interests.  If the website is sponsored or has ads, look at the content to determine if the site was created as a means of promoting a particular product, service or ideology.  If links to other websites are provided, take the time to examine these other sites.  For example, if a website about abortion is mainly linking to anti-abortion groups, it's safe to assume that the information on the site may not be neutral.

4 - Currency

When was the website last updated?  Are there dead links?  Can you find information telling you when the website was created?   

If you can't find a date anywhere, it may be difficult determine the website's currency.  A website with no dates and broken links may indicate that the site is out-of-date and / or poorly maintained.  

5 - Purpose and intended audience

Who are the author(s) trying to reach with the website (children, adults, professionals)?  Why do you think the author(s) created the website?  Are the author(s) trying to sell you something, collect your personal information, etc.?  

When you approach content on the web, the first thing you should consider is the target audience.  A website constructed for children, in most cases, is not appropriate when you're doing research at a university level.  If you're doing research on the internet, preferably, you should be consulting sites geared towards specialists in a given field.  Another point to consider is the website's purpose.  Websites whose aim is to sell you something or gather your personal information may not be reliable sources to consult.  Furthermore, if a website is looking to promote a particular group or ideology, it may not be the most objective source of information.

Statistics Canada - Census Data

• Analytical reports, tools, and documentation from the 2016 Census of Population.

GeoSearch

• An interactive mapping application that makes it easy to find geographic areas in Canada for which census data are available, all the way down to dissemination areas.

Eurostat

The Statistical Office of the European Communities.  The website is updated daily and provides direct access to the latest and most complete statistical information available on the European Union, the EU Member States, the euro-zone and other countries.

OECD iLibrary Statistics

Provides a single online platform where users can discover and access statistical databases from the OECD. You will be able to build tables and extract data from across databases as well as work within individual databases. Includes data and metadata for OECD countries and selected non-member economies.

UNData

A portal to United Nations databases.  Currently, there are 24 databases and 6 glossaries containing approximately 60 million data points and covering a whole range of statistics including Population, Industry, Energy, Trade and National Accounts.  Useful features like Country Profiles, Advanced Search and Glossaries are also provided to aid research.

If you have any questions or data requests, please email: data@laurentian.ca

You can also consult the Data and Statistics subject guide.

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (print book)
• Concise rules of APA style (print book)
• Writing tip: APA Style 7th edition
• Cite Your Sources: APA

• Always ask your professor which citation style you should use. 
• Keep accurate notes on each source you consult.  These notes will ensure that you have all the necessary information needed to create a complete bibliography.  Using an application such as RefWorks will facilitate this process. 
• When citing information from the internet, be certain to jot down the exact date the item was consulted and bookmark the website.
• When taking notes from a source, put quotation marks around anything you haven't paraphrased or summarized.  This will ensure that you don't accidentally plagiarize later on when you begin writing your assignment.  For more information, consult the guide titled “How not to plagiarize” (Source: Writing Centre - U of T)
• Information that falls under common knowledge does not need to be cited.  An example of common knowledge would be that the earth revolves around the sun.
• To properly paraphrase and summarize, it requires that you thoroughly understand the passage or article you’re reading.  When you don’t fully grasp the concepts presented, it’s best to try and locate another source with similar content presented and/or explained differently.  For more information concerning paraphrase and summary, please consult the guide titled “Paraphrase and summary” (Source: Writing Centre - U of T)