Research Guides: Canadian History: Books to Get You Started

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Why Reference books?

Question: What value lies in a reference work? Why should you bother to consult these books?

Answer: Reference books help create a framework around your topic. They can help guide you in asking the right questions. Reference books can help researchers become more efficient database searchers - in formulating which keywords (or search terms) to use. Scholarly reference books also contain bibliographies (!!) - a listing of some of the most respected secondary and most useful primary sources on a topic. In a nutshell.... reference books are a great way to begin your research.

Books to Get You Started

Here are some awesome books to get you started on your research topic. Please note: E-Books are restricted to current TRU students, staff and faculty.

Writing History : a guide for Canadian students, 3rd edition by William Kelleher Storey, Towser Jones
Call Number: D 16 .S76 2011 House of Learning Library & Williams Lake
Discusses crafting a topic statement and research proposal, interpreting source materials, building an argument, choosing precise wording, and revising and editing your work.
Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples by Paul Robert Magocsi (Editor)
Call Number: FC 104 .E56 1999 House of Learning & Williams Lake
Addresses origins of Canada's peoples. Whether a First Nation, founding people, or subsequent arrival, all Canada's peoples are described in 119 individual entries that range from Acadians to Ukrainians, Hyderabadis to Vietnamese covering the origin of the group, the process of migration, arrival and settlement, economic and community life, family and kinship patterns, language and culture, education, religion, politics, intergroup relations, and the dynamics of group maintenance.
A Bibliography of Canada's Peoples, 1980-1989 by compiled by Renee Rogers and Gabriele Scardellato
Call Number: FC 104 .R6 1996
Nearly 8000 entries listing books which provide a wide range of information about individual ethnocultural groups. Arranged by subject
Bibliographia Canadiana by Claude Thibault
Call Number: FC 164 .B52 1973
Useful for finding topic ideas, this bibliography of printed materials for Canadian history is arranged in chronological order and in by topic. Items have been selected based on their national relevance and include books, articles, manuscripts, and government documents. Topics include primary sources (guides to manuscript and archival collections, collections of printed documents, and government publications) and secondary works. Secondary work topics include agriculture, education, railways, Metis, science, mines, literature, provinces and regions.
Canadian history : a reader's guide by Taylor, M. Brook
Call Number: FC 164 .C23 1994
Provides a selective, critical guide to the published scholarship in the field of Canadian history.
Introducing Canada : an annotated bibliography of Canadian history in English by Brian Gobbett and Robert Irwin
Call Number: FC 164 .G62 1998
This annotated bibliography of Canadian history is an excellent tool for formulating topic ideas and getting started on history research. It includes an author index and a subject index for easy searching. In addition, the book is broken down into a wide range of detailed topics including working class labour history, intellectual history, political history, immigration history.
A Reader's Guide to Canadian History by D. A. Muise (Editor)
Call Number: FC 164 .R423 1982 V.1-2
Organized thematically, there are two volumes. Volume 1: Beginnings to Confederation and Volume 2: Confederation to Present which provide a critical authoritative guide to Canadian historical writing. An excellent tool for first and second year students formulating topic ideas and beginning research.
Historical Dictionary of Canada by Barry M. Gough
Call Number: FC 23 .G68 1999
Publication Date: 1999-12-08
This dictionary is a handy reference to students of Canadian studies, Canadian history, Canadian government, and colonization studies. Includes a bibliography, maps, and appendixes of Canadian government leaders.
The Oxford Companion to Canadian History by Gerald Hallowell (Editor)
Call Number: FC 23 .O94 2004 E-book, House of Learning Library, & Williams Lake Library
It the essential guide to the significant events, issues, institutions, people, and places that have shaped Canadian life from earliest times to the late twentieth century. In more than 1,700 entries, the country's leading historians describe and analyze events in political, military, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual history, drawing on the latest scholarship.
The Encyclopedia of British Columbia by Dan Francis, editorial director
Call Number: FC 3804 .E52 2000 E-book, House of Learning Library & Williams Lake Library
The encyclopedia contains more than 4,000 entries and hundreds of photos, maps, tables and charts all on the province of British Columbia.
British Columbia local histories : a bibliography by Linda L. Hale and Jean Barman
Call Number: FC 3811 .H34 1991
A bibliography containing over 1000 citations of published documents pertaining to specific areas of British Columbia. The work includes a place index for pinpointing materials on specific regions of the province including Barriere, Douglas Lake, Cumberland, Kamloops, and many others.
Navigations, Traffiques & Discoveries 1774-1848 : a guide to publications relating to the area now British Columbia by compiled by Gloria M. Strathern, with the assistance of Margaret H. Edwards
Call Number: FC 3821 .S87 1970
Despite its age, this bibliography provides an extensive list of published works that deal with British Columbia between 1774-1848. Included are brief annotations and a general index.
Canadian Reference Sources : an annotated bibliography : general reference works, history, humanities by Mary E. Bond, compiler and editor
Call Number: Z 1365 .B66 1996 Print & E-Book
This bibliography cites those Canadian and foreign reference sources that describe Canadian people, institutions, organizations,publications, art, literature, languages, and history.
Doing History: Research and Writing in the Digital Age by Michael J. Galgano; J. Christopher Arndt; Raymond M. Hyser
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2007
Handbook to historical research from locating your sources and gathering information, to writing clearly and making proper use of various citation styles to avoid plagiarism.