Research guides: Environment, Resources and Sustainability: Get started

About this guide

This guide will help students and faculty in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability navigate the library to meet their learning and research needs by:

showcasing relevant databases to find articles
providing information about books, both print and electronic
linking to more collections and additional resources
identifying tools that support academic goals and objectives

Find articles lists databases for specific topics, such as:

climate change, sustainability ethics
governance of aquatic systems, coastal regions
ecological restoration and rehabilitation
animal populations and landscape genetics
agricultural biotechnology
global environmental politics and food security
water resource management, security, governance, policy
environmental politics, democratic theory
social dimensions of invasive biology
agroecology, agroforestry, soil ecosystems
enchantment, ontological and behavioural change
ecological processes and patterns in long-term human settlements

A brief overview of databases on:

how to navigate
what databases contain
some of the functions and benefits

Find books has information on:

direct link to search the library catalogue
how can I get my books during COVID-19?
how can I find my books?
library catalogue search function
placing holds and recalls
not in the catalogue?
should we order a copy?
on-campus book return bins locations
new books
core texts for the discipline
eReference material
eBooks and eBook collections
questions? Contact me

More resources:

library guides
- essential
- subject specific
- topic specific
- for advanced library users
unique collections
- data; statistics
- films
- Geospatial Centre
- Special Collections & Archives (SC&A)
  - Digital library
  - Special Collections / Rare books
publications of selected centres and institutes
- Heritage Resources Centre
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3)
- Southwestern Ontario Research Data Centre (SWORDC)
- Water Institute
- Waterloo Institute for Complexity & Innovation (WICI)
- Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation (WISIR)
- Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE)

The Research toolkit provides an overview of the research process and tips to help with:

academic writing, essays and research papers
help with references, citing your work
bibliometric tools
more than technical skills, soft skills
time management tips
the research process
saving your search strategy
setting up alerts
publishing your work?
need funding?

Access

Access to the electronic resources requires your WatIAM credentials. You can login before you start your search from the library's homepage using the 'Get access from anywhere' link, located in the left navigation, or when the system prompts you to enter your credentials. If, for any reason, you encounter any difficulties with gaining access, please contact me directly or library staff through our Ask us chat service to resolve the issue.

The 2021 Environmental Sustainability Report, prepared by the President's Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability

Omni: your library catalogue

The library catalogue, Omni, is a dynamic platform that provides more functionality, more options, and additional academic library catalogues to browse and search for information. The redesign makes navigation more intuitive, detailed descriptions provide more context, all of which makes for a more rewarding experience. Searching in the advanced search option is recommended for optimum results.

Current examples of research topics:

Adaptive and collaborative governance in coastal and marine systems
Aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology
Biogeography and forest ecology
Coastal conservation and social-ecological systems
Cumulative effects assessment
Community-based/participatory research
Ecological restoration, resilience and conservation
Ecology and policy of parks and protected areas
Energy governance and policy
Environmental assessment law and process reform
Environmental monitoring
Environmental politics and non-rational drivers of behaviour
First Nations, adaptive capacity, resilience and climate change
Gender and environmental governance
Global and agricultural governance
Global change ecology
Historical ecology
Human dimensions of environmental change
Identity, spirituality and ritual in water decisions
Landscape genetics
Local and sustainable agriculture in Arctic Indigenous communities
Maker culture and consumer society
Managing complex social-ecological systems in peri-urban and remote First Nations communities
Pollination and invasive species ecology
Re-conceptualizing conservation, parks and invasive species for the Anthropocene
Social dimensions of biodiversity conservation and climate change
Social innovation and complex social-ecological systems
Social movements, environmental/climate justice, just transition
Social-psychological dimensions of water decisions
Soil health, biochar, carbon sequestration
Sustainability assessment principles and applications
Sustainable agriculture and climate change resilience
Sustainable energy strategies
Urban political ecology and green economic development
Water and environmental governance
Water resources management
Water scarcity, drought and efficiency mechanisms
Wildlife ecology and management

Need help?

You can email me with your question(s), or book a consultation. Email questions are answered within1-2 business days. Consultations can be booked up to a month in advance and could be up to an hour in length.