This guide is designed to gather information about the mining cycle (exploration, extraction, processing, waste management, reclamation, closure) in relation to various Ontario mining sites.
Besides using the brainstorming questions below, here's a set of steps to start your information searching:
- Find all the names used for your mine sites, keeping in mind that mine names change.
- Find the township/county names where your sites are located - again, these may have changed over time.
- Using the Atlas of Canada, get the NTS grid coordinates for your sites (the coordinates will be useful when searching for geological survey reports)
- Search GeoRef and Compendex together - they index journal articles, maps, survey documents, reports, conference proceedings, theses and books. This is the best single place to find out what exists. Use the GetIt@Queen's links to see if the documents are available in the library in print or online. Make sure to double-check QCAT, especially for maps and reports! For older material, there probably isn't a digital copy.
- For materials found in GeoRef and Compendex that aren't at Queen's, search GeologyOntario, GeoScan, Geogratis, Dissertations and Theses. Use the free interlibrary loan service if necessary. Contact Morag to double check whether or not Queen's has a document.
- Check the undergrad thesis/design project list at the main office to see if anyone has researched any of these sites.
- For mine life cycle information, search the Knovel Ebook collection.
Off Campus Access
If you are a member (student, professor, researcher, employee, etc.) of Queen's University community, you can access all of the Library's subscribed electronic resources from off-campus. You just need to log in the proxy server in order to access these resources.
Literature Search Process
Getting Started
Questions to brainstorm as you start your research proces...
What is my research question?
What information do I already have?
What information do I need?
- List keywords and synonyms
- List finding aids to use
- Do I need costs, geographic locations, methodology, maps/geospatial data, reviews, papers, etc?
- What is the time span? Do I need historical data?
- How do I check the credibility of my sources?
- Who will I need to contact about getting information? (E.g. governmental organizations, conservation authority, etc.)
