LibGuides: POLI 220-3-3 The Politics of Human Rights: Background Sources

Background Information

After you've chosen a topic to research, you will need to search for information that will introduce you to the topic. Background sources provide you with:

General Encyclopedias

Canadian Encyclopedia (E-Book) This link opens in a new window
Digital interactive version of The Canadian Encyclopedia
The Canadian Encyclopedia contains more than 35,000 articles in English and French and more than 30,000 multimedia items including images, maps, games, audio and video. The new interactive features include curated content exhibits, interactive timelines, immediate updates of important events and a user-generated content map that invites Canadians to share their stories.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) (E-book) This link opens in a new window
The authoritative historical dictionary of the English language
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) provides the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, from the past and the present, in the English language. The online version is based on the 20-volume 2nd edition, and is the ultimate authority on the English language. Words are traced back to their first appearance in the language, with illustrative quotes provided.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Online dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks & other reference works in subjects areas such as science, nursing, psychology, sociology and other social sciences, business and languages.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Specialized subject encyclopedias.

Using Internet Sources - A place to start but not to finish

Using Google to start your research process is a good way to get general information quickly. You can use websites, blogs, and Wikipedia to get a general ideas about a topic, and to help frame your research strategy.

However, the problem with internet sources is that it's difficult to verify the information. Starting your research on Google is fine, but use the library resources to complete your search!

TIPS FOR USING WIKIPEDIA

1) Use the "Reference" section at the bottom to see where the information came from. These may be quality sources you can use for your research.

2) Scroll through the page to find key people and concepts (which may be highlighted links). These can be used as search terms and additional exploring.

3) Use highlighted links to jump to related pages, to help give you a sense of the bigger picture.

4) Verify everything you find in WIKIPEDIA in another source.