Where to look, in order
- Government and agency data — Statistics Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, NASA, NOAA. Primary data, freely available.
- Peer-reviewed research — often paywalled, but abstracts are public and frequently enough.
- University and museum explainers — reliable, written for the public.
- News reporting — useful for finding that a study exists; go to the study.
- Anything else — treat as a lead, not a source.
Judging a source
- Who wrote it, and what do they gain if you believe it?
- When was it published? Climate and space data age quickly.
- Does it cite its own sources, or just assert?
- Can you find the same claim somewhere independent?
Citing
Give enough that a reader can find it: author, title, publisher, date, and link.
Environment and Climate Change Canada. Canada’s Changing Climate Report. Government of Canada, 2019. https://changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/
On using AI assistants
If you use one, say so and say how. They produce fluent text and invent citations that look real. Check every reference against the actual source — a citation you have not opened is a citation you cannot use. See what this course says about emerging technologies for why this matters beyond this class.