Evaluating Information
Use the CRAAP Test
Currency - Is it timely?
Relevance - Useful for your purposes?
Authority - Who? What is the source?
Accuracy - References to back it up?
Purpose - Why? Is there a bias?
Government Information Sources
- Open GovernmentThis Canadian government data will provide up to date research, policy, and city information. You can search using various portals, including OpenData, OpenInformation, or OpenGovernement.
- City of Edmonton: Open Data CatalogueAccess to datasets around Edmonton transportation, construction, tree species, and more.
- City of EdmontonThis is a great place to find information about public transportation, neighborhoods, city programming, etc.
- Edmonton Tower Resource CentreLibrary collection accessible to students and faculty. Online collection includes Edmonton zoning bylaws from 1933 to 2016, Edmonton general plans from 1963 onward, and other useful resources.
Databases for Finding Articles
Human Geography Subject Databases
- PAIS International (1915 - current)Covers global public policy, social issues, demography, environmental studies, general social sciences. The databasecites journal articles, both scholarly and popular, books, government documents (with an emphasis on Canada, USA and the United Nations), statistical compilations, committee reports (private and public), and directories
- OECD (formerly OECD iLibrary)Online library of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD publications cover economic, environmental, and social issues including trade, education, labour, social policy, health, finance, development, energy, sustainability, and science and innovation.
- GreenFILEDevoted to the study of sustainability and the environment, and provides access to academic articles, news articles, background information, video, primary source documents and statistics
- Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 This link opens in a new window
The Sanborn Map Company published fire insurance maps for a century, repeatedly mapping U.S. towns and cities as they changed over time. These maps provide information such as building outline, size and shape, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, and property numbers. Plans often include details on construction materials and building use, and also depict pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps, and other features.
- Sociological AbstractsProvides access to the world's literature (from 1952 to present) in sociology and related disciplines, including social welfare, social planning, social policy and development. It covers articles from over 2,000 journals, conference papers, dissertations, book reviews and selected sociology books. It covers both the theoretical and applied aspects of sociology.
Interdisciplinary Databases
- Web of Science - All DatabasesA major multidisciplinary database for the Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities, as well as the Sciences. Great research metrics tool.
- ScopusMultidisciplinary database with over 16,500 titles - especially strong in science, engineering, technology, and medicine.
- Academic Search CompleteAcademic Search Complete provides indexing and abstracts for a large number of scholarly journals in a variety of disciplines, and full text for a subset of these journals.
