For Library research help, please contact Moninder Lalli, Librarian for Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies by email moninder_lalli@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian.

Research process

Start Your Research Here - This page gives you an overview of the research process, or in other words how to find materials for your essay.

Definitions and theories

Use encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks to obtain definitions and overviews of a topic and also to identify key authors.

• A-Z of gender and sexuality : from Ace to Ze
• Ashgate research companion to queer theory
• Encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & queer culture
• Global encyclopedia of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) history
• Greenwood encyclopedia of LGBT issues worldwide
• Routledge Handbook of East Asian Gender studies
• Routledge handbook of gender in South Asia
• Routledge Handbook of Queer African studies
• Routledge Handbook of Queer Development Studies
• Routledge handbook of sexuality, health and rights
• Routledge Handbook of Sexuality Studies in East Asia
• Routledge history of queer America
• Routledge international encyclopedia of queer culture
• Sage encyclopedia of LGBTQ studies
• Transgender : a Reference Handbook
• Transgender encyclopedia

Find journal articles

Search for journal articles on your topic using the databases below.  From within the database, use the "Get@SFU" icon will to find copies of articles which are not full-text within the database or to initiate an inter-library loan request.. Limit search results to "academic / scholarly" articles.

• Women's Studies International - key database for the discipline
• Academic Search Premier - Multidisciplinary index to academic & popular journals. Limit to "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" articles
• Sociological Abstracts - for social issues
• Social Sciences Full Text  Multi-disciplinary database
• CBCA Complete -- Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) Complete provides access to articles in scholarly journals and Canadian newspapers.  You can "limit" your search results to "academic" or "scholarly" sources.
• Canadian Newsstream -- Full text access to major Canadian daily newspapers (such as the Globe and Mail, National Post, The Gazette (Montreal), and Vancouver Sun) as well as small market newspapers and weeklies published in Canada.
• Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America - Academic articles and Indigenous news sources.  Covers all aspects of Native North American culture, history, and life from the sixteenth century to the present.
• Google Scholar -- use the database through the Library link to search for full-text of articles

Find books

Library Catalogue search guide

The Library Catalogue provides access to books, journal articles, videos, government documents and much more.  To limit the search results to "books", use the filter (left-hand column in search results) to "resource type" of "books."

Search the SFU Library Catalogue, either the Basic or the Advanced search

For known items it is best to check using "Browse by title"

Note: In the searches below, you can limit search results to "Online Resources only" and "Resource type" of "Books". You can further limit by using "Subject" (left-hand column)

• (sexualit* OR mascuilin* OR feminit*) AND (theor* OR debat* OR issue*)

Proper syntax for Boolean logic (words that allow you to combine concepts)

Combine different concepts using AND
Combine same concepts using OR
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase
Use brackets for synonyms
Use asterisk (*) for different endings of words

Note:  For Catalogue Search, when combining concepts, use CAPITAL letters ( "OR", "AND")

Find books by subject headings

Use the Browse Search option in the SFU Library Catalogue.  Select "Subject" (drop-down menu), and enter term.

• Subject terms for gender / sexuality studies
  • Feminist theory
  • Gay Liberation Movement Canada
  • Gay Rights -- Canada
  • Gay Rights United States
  • Gender and sexuality
  • Gender identity
  • Heterosexism
  • Lesbian feminist Theory
  • Queer Theory
  • Transsexual Men
  • Transgender People
  •  Sex change
  • Transsexualism
  • Transsexuals
  • Transvestism
  • Transsexuals -- Civil rights
  • Transsexuals -- Legal status, laws, etc.

Archives

An archive preserves the historical records (evidence) and they can be found at local (municipal), provincial or national levels. They could be private or public. Not everything in an archive is available in the digital format.  In addition, some material may have restricted access or have an embargo period before the material is allowed to be viewed.  An archivist tries to maintain the "organization" of the collection which was created by a donor of a collection.  Materials are organized by "fonds" (collections) and usually archivist create finding aids for these collections.

• Search Engine - SFU Atom to search the SFU Archives (University) and Special Collections and Rare Books (SFU Library)

  SFU Atom contains more than 54,000 descriptions of files, documents, photographs, audio and video recordings and ephemera housed at either the Archives or Special Collections and Rare Books.  Holdings include records of the university, faculty members, campus community organizations, local organizations, businesses and community groups, writers and other notable individuals, and collections documenting historically significant movements and places in British Columbia.  Some examples:  First nations, Robert Bringhurst fonds, Women, Maggie Benston collection (Sue Cox collector), Maggie Benston fonds 

• MemoryBC: The British Columbia Archival Union List  Descriptions of archival materials preserved in archives and repositories across BC, with links to digitized materials where available; includes in-person access information. Example: First nations,
• British Columbia Gay and Lesbian Archives
• Black Trans Archives
• Archive of Queer Black Feeling - part of South Asian American Digital Archive
• Two-Spirit Archives - University of Winnipeg

Presentation skills

See the Student Learning Commons for expert and friendly help with academic writing, learning, and study strategies.

• Resources on developing your participation skills
• Resources to help you improve your presentation skills

Library guides

• Findind and evaluating resources on the web
• Avoiding plagiarism
• What is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal?
• How to write an annotated bibliography
• More Tutorials (interactive)
• Citation or reference management tools collect your journal article, book, or other document citations together in one place, and help you create properly formatted bibliographies in almost any style — in seconds.
• For help with writing essays, visit the Student Learning Commons resources on Writing for university.

Writing help

• see the side tab, Citing and writing for how to cite using APA, MLA, Chicago styles
• Student Learning Commons
  • Assignment Calculator
  • Academic writing resources
    • Writing for university
    • Academic writing - a list of over 200 books.
  • Book a consultation