Open Access Resources

Open Access Textbooks

1. OASIS Open Education Resources Search – A search engine that enables users to search for openly available content. The following types of content are available, textbooks, audiobooks, interactive simulations, videos, podcasts, public domain books, open access books etc. Includes an advanced search feature enabling user search by title, author, subject, source etc. It features 388,707 records from 117 sources including BC Open Campus, Open textbook library, Smart History, Library of Congress, Project Gutenberg, Project Muse, TED talks and College/University presses.
2. B.C. Open Collection by BC Campus – The B.C. Open Collection by BC Campus is home to a growing selection of open textbooks for a variety of subjects and specialties. Discover open textbooks that have been reviewed by faculty, meet accessibility requirements, and/or include ancillary materials (quizzes, test banks, slides, videos, etc.).

Peer-reviewed Open Access Journals

1. SpringerOpen – SpringerOpen is Springer’s portfolio of 200+ peer reviewed Open Access journals and has been expanded to include Open Access books. Subject areas include: Business and Management, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Economics, Energy, , Environment, Geography, History, Law, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Statistics etc.
2. JSTOR Open Access – Contains thousands of open access books, journals, images, research reports and open community collections.
3. DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. All DOAJ services are free of charge including being indexed. All data is freely available.
4. SocArXiv – SocArXiv, open archive of the social sciences, provides a free, non-profit, open access platform for social scientists to upload working papers, preprints, and published papers, with the option to link data and code.

Indigenous Resources and Databases

1. Indigenous Studies Portal (iportal) – The i-portal is an extremely useful online library of scholarly articles and other resources about First Nations people arranged under headings. It is created and maintained by the University of Saskatchewan Libraries. It is a good tool for undergraduate students.
2. Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada – Canadian Geographic
3. Indigenous Peoples Collection – from the Canadian Encyclopedia
4. Native American (JSTOR Collection)
5. Canadian Journal of Native Education (CJNE) was first published in 1980 with the goal of compiling and sharing the works of Indigenous Scholars in the field of education.
6. Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development (JAED) is a publication of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando).
7. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies
8. The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture, & Resistance – PJLCR publishes with the goal of bettering and advancing Native Nations and Indian People.
9. International Indigenous Policy Journal
10. Journal of Indigenous Research
11. Our Legacy – Material relating to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, found in Saskatchewan cultural and heritage collections.
12. Northwest Resistance Database – Materials relating to the Northwest Resistance of 1885 held by the Special Collections Department of the University of Saskatchewan Libraries and the University of Saskatchewan Archives.
13. Indigenous Canada – Indigenous Canada is a free 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada.
14. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation – Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports, Government Reports, Legislation, etc
15. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – Official UN webpage to access UNDRIP (A/RES/61/295)
16. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) – Govt. of Canada
17. National Council for Reconciliation Act – Govt. of Canada

Statistical Open Access Resources

1. Abacus Data Network – The Abacus Data Network provides students open access to select data sets and statistics for research purposes.
2. Statistics Canada – Statistics Canada produces statistics that help Canadians better understand their country—its population, resources, economy, society and culture.
3. The World Bank – Graph, map and compare more than 1,000 time series indicators from the World Development Indicators.
4. World Statistics – Free and easy access to data provided by International Organisations, such as the World Bank, the United Nations, and Eurostat.
5. Country Reports – More than 35,000 pages of cultural, historical, and statistical information on countries of the world.
6. Nation Master – A statistics database covering economic and demographic indicators from sources such as UNDP, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UNCTAD, WTO, World Bank, WHO, OECD, etc.
7. Canadian Industry Statistics – Canadian Industry Statistics (CIS) analyses industry data on many economic indicators using the most recent data from Statistics Canada. CIS looks at industry trends and financial information, such as GDP, Labour Productivity, and Manufacturing and Trade data.
8. Statistics BC – B.C. population projections, Business, Industry & Trade data, Historical Census data, labor force statistics, etc.

Useful Open Access Resources on History

1. UShistory.org – contains useful citeable online information on Ancient Civilizations, American History, and the American Government.
2. ThoughtCo. – Contains useful information compiled by qualified educators on topics such as History, Humanities, Visual Arts, Literature, Geography, Languages, etc.
3. Canadian Museum of History – Contains searchable online textual and visual information on Canadian History and Ancient World Civilizations on architecture, daily life, writing, sciences, religion, government, etc. in the selected period.
4. BC Campus History – Open textbook resources on World History and Canadian History.
5. LibreTexts Humanities – Useful open-access resources on History and archaeology
6. Boundless World History – Open educational resources on Ancient World Civilizations, Dynasties, Empires, World Wars, etc
7. World History (Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500) – Open-access textbook resource introducing the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500.
8. BBC History – Contains useful information on Ancient History, British History, World Wars, etc. (Last updated 2014)
9. Avalon project – Document collections in Law, History, and Diplomacy provided by the Lillian Goldman Law Library of Yale Law School.

Open Access Resources for Philosophy

1. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) – Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource founded in 1995 to provide open access to detailed, scholarly, information on key topics and philosophers in all areas of philosophy.
2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – SEP organizes scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines to create and maintain an up-to-date reference work.
3. Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names – A concise guide to technical terms and personal names often encountered in the study of philosophy.
4. New Ideal – Free to access newsletter containing articles on cultural issues and topics such as objectivism & philosophy, morality and religion, culture & politics, science & progress, foreign policy, and free speech.

Open Access Resources for Social Sciences

1. The CIA World Factbook – Provides basic intelligence on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
2. The Area Handbook Series – By the Library of Congress Digital Collections includes book-length works covering the history, politics, geography, and economy of individual countries.
3. BBC Country profiles – Provides an instant guide to the history, politics, and economic background of countries and territories, and the background of key institutions.
4. Human Rights Watch – Investigates and reports on human rights abuses happening in all corners of the world.
5. Free-to-use Collaborative international cost of living index (For general information only; not to be used as an academic source.)
6. Free-to-use World Culture Encyclopedia (For general information only; not to be used as an academic source.)

Open Access Resources for Business/Marketing Research

1. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2022 Version 1.0 – Industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAICS can also be used for classifying companies and enterprises and is designed for statistical purposes.
2. Marketing Plan Outline from Government of Canada – This Government of Canada page reviews the components of a marketing plan and why a marketing plan is necessary for your small business.
3. BDC Marketing Plan Template – This comprehensive marketing plan template from BDC is for Canadian entrepreneurs specifically and includes all the important sections of a marketing plan, including an executive summary, identification of your target customer, and how you’ll measure your sales.
4. Small Business BC – How to Write a Marketing Plan – This guide shows you how to develop a marketing plan that includes details like how you intend to meet your customers’ needs and communicate the benefits of your products or services to them.
5. Starting a Business in BC – Information supplied by the Government of British Columbia
6. Small Business BC – Small Business BC helps British Columbia’s entrepreneurs grow successful and sustainable businesses through expert business advisors, educational services, easy-to-use free resources, and engaging community events.
7. Work BC Labor Market Information – Discover what drives B.C.’s economy. Explore B.C. industries and sub-industries. Learn about the province’s regions, population, and ten-year employment outlook.
8. Govt. of Canada – Business, and Industry – Business taxes, permits and regulations, intellectual property, business support, and how to sell to the government.
9. Reuters Business News – Founded in 1851, Reuters has remained true to the Trust Principles of independence, integrity, and freedom from bias, working relentlessly to bring news from the source and from every corner of the world.
10. BBC Business News – Founded in 1922, BBC is a global news website bringing news and features to a huge international audience.
11. UBC’s Beginner’s Guide to Business research – Useful website provided by the UBC to plan for business research
12. UBC Industry Guides – Guides To Fast-Track Your Market Research. These guides are detailed aids to help you plan and execute your secondary market research.