Environment & Sustainability

Citation is widely used as a metric for evaluating performance in Western academia. Like other cultural practices, citation is susceptible to biases that reflect and reinforce dominant historical power structures of race, gender, and class.

Citation justice is the practice of maintaining an awareness of these biases and actively working to build more inclusive and equitable citation networks within your works. By choosing to cite scholars with varied backgrounds and identities, you intentionally expand the academic conversation, and increase equity and inclusion in your fields.

Some suggestions for inclusive citation practice include:

• Experiment with search terms and sources, and broaden your reading: reading from a range of cultures, races, and other identities can help diversify citations. 
• Audit your citation list. Does it include racialized, female-identified, early-career, or non-academic authors?
• Include a citation diversity statement to increase the transparency of your practice and encourage other scholars to do likewise.

Interested in learning more about citation justice?

• University of Minnesota's guide to conducting anti-racist research (see the section "Decenter whiteness in primary research")
• Michigan State University's guide to AI and citation equality
• Kwon, D. (2022). The rise of citational justice: how scholars are making references fairer. Nature (London), 603(7902), 568–571. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00793-1
• Mott, C., & Cockayne, D. (2017). Citation matters: mobilizing the politics of citation toward a practice of “conscientious engagement.” Gender, Place and Culture : A Journal of Feminist Geography, 24(7), 954–973. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2017.1339022

Communication and Mass Media Complete: Robust, quality research in areas related to communication and mass media.  

ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.  Provides extensive access to education-related literature and indexes journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, A/V media, bibliographies, directories, books, and monographs.

GreenFile: freely accessible research database focusing on the relationship between human beings and the environment, with well-researched but accessible information on topics ranging from global warming to recycling to alternate fuel sources and beyond. Comprised of scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports, GreenFILE offers a perspective on the positive and negative ways humans affect the ecology. Drawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology.

PsycInfo: citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports in the field of psychology. Includes information about the psychological aspects of related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law. Journal coverage, which spans from 1887 to present, includes international material.

ASFA 3: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts focuses on research and policy on the contamination of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and estuaries.  Areas of coverage include aquatic pollution mentods and instruments, characteristics, behavior, and fate of aquatic pollution, effects of aquatic pollution on organisms, prevention and control of aquatic pollution, mechanical and natural environmental changes, protective measures and control, wildlife conservation, management, and recreation, public health, medicines, and dangerous organisms 

Biological and Agricultural Index: Covers popular and professional publications relating to agriculture, biology, ecology, and forestry

Biosis Previews: A major index to the world's life sciences and biomedical research covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods, instrumentation, animal studies, and more

Ecology Abstracts: Current ecology research across a range of disciplines, reflecting recent advances in research related to global environmental change and destruction. Emphasizes how organisms of all kinds interact with their environments and with other organisms.  Covers relevant papers on evolutionary biology, economics, and systems analysis as they relate to ecosystems and the environment

GeoRef: Comprehensive geoscience literature of the world. Covers biogeochemical cycling, economic geology, structural geology, and much more 

Zoological Record Plus: Extensive coverage of the world's zoologial and animal science literature including taxonomy, physiology, conservation and environmental science, marine and freshwater biology, and new techniques for the laboratory and field

Environmental Engineering Abstracts: comprehensive index to world literature on all technical and engineering aspects of air, water and soil quality, environmental safety, sustainability and energy production

Faulkner's Advisory for Information Technology Studies (FAITS): Library of reports covering IT infrastructure, wireless technology, security, data networking, technology vendors, and more.  Useful for tracking technology trends, strategic planning, competitive analysis, market awareness, and product/vendor evaluation

Access World News: Full text of over 600 U.S. newspapers and over 260 English language newspapers from other countries worldwide.  Text only (no photos, charts, or ads)

Alternative Press Index: Leading guide to the alternative press in North America. Indexes nearly 300 alternative, radical, and left publications, which report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political, and social change

Ecolex: A Gateway to Environmental Law: Provides literature, treatises, court decisions, and legislation related to environmental law

Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy: Examines the philosophical and ethical issues underlying contemporary and historical environmental issues, policies, and debates.  Covers concepts, institutions, topics, events and people, including global warming, animal rights, environmental movements, alternative energy, green chemistry, industrial ecology, and eco-sabotage

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO): Designed to be a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. Full text conference proceedings, think tank articles, some journals, CIA factbook links and other sources of international information, and working papers on international affairs

CQ Researcher: In-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy

EconLit: Covers wide range of economics-related literature in both theory and application. Areas of coverage include business administration and business, economic development, economic history, finance, general economics and teaching, industrial organization, international economics, labor, law and economics, and macroeconomics 

Policy Archive:  A digital library of public policy research

Political Science Complete: Covers law and legislation, comparative politics, political theory, international relations, humanitarian issues, and non-governmental organizations

ProQuest Congressional: Offers access to congressional publications dealing with the wide variety of topics addressed by Congress

Aqualine: Trade, technical, and scientific literature concerning all aspects of water resources.  Major areas of coverage include water resources and supplies management, water legislation, water quality, potable water distribution, wastewater collection, water treatment technologies, wastewater and sewage treatment and ecological and environmental effects of water pollution

Agricola: Journal articles, monographs, proceedings, theses, patents, translations, a/v materials, computer software, and technical reports pertaining to all aspects of agriculture and related fields

EconLit: Covers wide range of economics-related literature in both theory and application. Areas of coverage include business administration and business, economic development, economic history, finance, general economics and teaching, industrial organization, international economics, labor, law and economics, and macroeconomics 

EnergyWire: Comprehensive daily coverage of environmental and energy policy and markets. Washington D.C., national, and global coverage. Key areas of coverage include U.S. federal legislation, U.S. environmental regulation and federal agencies, International and U.S. climate policy issues, global energy resources and markets, alternative energy, air and water issues, hazardous and toxic substances, public lands, endangered species, mining and agriculture, and technology

Engineering Index (Compendex): International coverage of engineering and applied science literature in over 5000 journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports

Organic Agriculture Information Access: Historic United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publications related to organic agriculture

Water Resources Abstracts: Article coverage focusing on water supply and water treatment.