Criminal Justice Research - University Library

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Researching Criminal Justice

Resources for CJ 3170 & 5201

Journal Articles: Identifying	Reference Books (background)	Statistics
Journal Articles: Retrieving	News, Government and Legal Sources	Web Sources

Background/Overview Information

Scholarly dictionaries and encyclopedias provide brief definitions and overviews of topics. In quality publications, entries are written by experts (called signed articles) and list major works that have been published on a topic (bibliographic references). College instructors usually do not want students to cite reference works as a main source in research papers. Use them to gather background on a topic and to identify key publications to consult for further research.

Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities: Bosworth, Mary (ed.). (2005). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.; Library Reference Collection: REF HV9471 .E427 2005
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice: Dressler, Joseph (ed.). (2002). New York: MacMillan.; Main Library Reference: HV6017 .E52 2002; - a major encyclopedia for the criminal justice field; - excellent for background information; - provides bibliographies for further research; - available online via http://library.csustan.edu/s/purl.php?453
Criminal Justice: Gerstenfeld, Phyllis B. (ed.) (2006). Pasadena, CA: Salem.; Main Library Reference: KF 9214.5 .C75 2006; - library's most current scholarly encyclopedia for criminal justice; - signed articles with bibliographic references
Encyclopedia of Police Science: Bailey, William G. (Ed.) (1995). 2nd ed. New York, N.Y. : Garland Publishing.; Main Library Reference: HV7901 .E53 1995; - overview of police administration.; - separate bibliography of police history; - index to select legal cases
Encyclopedia of Sociology: Borgatta, Edgar F. and Marie L. (Eds.) (1992). New York, N.Y. : Macmillan.; Main Library Reference: HM17 .E5 1992; - major encyclopedia for the field of sociology; - criminal justice-related topics include U.S. court systems, deterrence, crime rates, etc.; - entries include brief bibliographies
Crime and Justice Atlas 2000: Justice Research and Statistics Association. (2000). Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Justice.; http://www.jrsainfo.org/programs/Crime_Atlas_2000.pdf; - includes updated data on state and national trends in crime, sentencing and corrections, and long-term trends; - presents a series of policy papers
More Criminal Justice Reference Materials: - Searches the Library Catalog for reference materials on criminal justice

Statistics

Many U.S. criminal justice statistics are compiled by the federal government. Annual compilations produced by the Government Printing Office summarize statistics for the year, just as importantly, cite the original sources for more detailed statistics on subject.

Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Reports: - key annual statistical report published from 1930-present; - library has 1961 - present; - shelved in government documents: DOCS J 1.14/7:; - Stockton library access center: HV6787 .A3; - current issues available online at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm; For history and questions about the UCR, see Louisiana's site and the FBI's FAQ
Criminal Victimization in the United States: - published in paper through 1995, now available online; - current issues available online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvu sst.htm
Bureau of Justice Statistics Publications: - federal compiler of a wide variety of statistics reports on criminal justice; - many available in print in the government documents section of the library
Statistical Abstract of the United States: - most comprehensive single statistical publication, library has 1960 - present; - excellent place to start looking for statistics on any subject; - provides basic reports and citations to more in-depth sources; - current issue at Reference Desk, previous in government documents: U.S.DOCS C 3.134:
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics: - most comprehensive criminal justice statistical publication, library has 1974 - present; - provides basic reports, use citations to more in-depth sources; - current issue at Reference Desk, previous in government documents: U.S.DOCS C 3.134:
Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics: - shelved in government documents: DOCS J 29.20:; - current issues available online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cfjs03.htm
Statistics Canada: Crime and Justice: - overall areas similar to U.S. (crime, victims, the courts); - based on Canada's Uniform Crime Reporting Survey
Recorded Crime Statistics: England and Wales: - annual report with similar breakdowns to U.S. and Canadian figures; - based on the U.K.'s Recorded Crimes Statistics, gathered since 1857

Original Data

Social Science Research Data: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Databases A-Z - Social; - data sets from original research compiled by ICPSR and other research organizations

Identifying Sources: Criminal Justice Research Databases

Criminal Justice Abstracts

National Criminal Justice Abstracts

Criminal Justice Abstracts: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Find: Articles - Criminal Justice; - most comprehensive single source covering of research in criminal justice; - able to search by author, title or subject; - Find It! button searches the Library Catalog to see if library holds journal
National Criminal Justice Research Service Abstracts: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Find: Articles - Criminal Justice; - index to government reports, books, journal articles and research reports; - full-text of select documents available in NCJRS Virtual Library; - able to search by author, title or subject

News, Legal and Government Sources

LEXIS-NEXIS: Academic Search; Academic Search Elite; Government Printing Office (GPO)
LEXIS-NEXIS: Academic Search: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Find: Articles - Criminal Justice; - full-text of legal and news sources; - legal research includes court cases, law codes, regulations and law review articles; - legal coverage at the U.S. federal and state level; - news section includes newspaper articles, TV news transcripts, and wire services; - news coverage from international, U.S. national, and select local sources
Academic Search Elite: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Find: Articles - Criminal Justice; - multidisciplinary database covering key academic journals and news magazines; - select articles available full-text; - able to limit to refereed journals
GPO Catalog of Government Publications: Available via: Library Home Page (http://library.csustan.edu/) - Find: Articles - Government; - citations to U.S. federal publications from 1976 - present; - agencies covered include U.S. Department of Justice (FBI, Bureau of Prisons, etc.); - CSU Stanislaus is a select depository; - most government publications held by library are not in the Library Catalog; - see Government Resources page for more information

Retrieving the Text of Materials

Once you have a citation to an article or book (e.g. from a Criminal Justice Abstracts search), see if it's available in print or online in the CSU Stanislaus Library. If it is not, students, faculty and staff may request it via Interlibrary Loan.

Finding the Text of Materials: Online | In the library | Off-campus via Interlibrary Loan

Link to Full-Text Online

In a database, look for and click the Find it! button.

If the Find It! window says Full text available via, click the link to access article.

Electronic Journals at CSU Stanislaus

Get into the library's list of Electronic Journals.
Click on first letter of the title of the journal (not the article!) to see if library has online access.
Search appropriate database for your article (e.g. author or title of the article).

Books and Most Journals held by the Library (Library Catalog)

Identify the title of the book or journal (not the article!)
In the Library Catalog, change Keyword to Title (Begins with).
Type title of book or journal.
If library has the title, go to full record and look at the holdings.

Books:
Check the status.
Checked out means it is not currently in the library.
If Available, check Location.
Locations:
Main - general book stacks.
Ref - Reference Room
Reserves or Case or Closed Stacks - see Circulation Desk

Journal articles:
If more than one title appears, click the appropriate title to display information about that title.
Check the volume/date of the article versus what the library has online, holds in print, or has the microfilm.
If Access online appears, click the link to access the text of articles (note the date - only recent years are likely to be available online).
The Holdings line indicates what the library has in the print periodicals collection.

The SUPPLS line indicates what the library has in microfilm.

Interlibrary Loan

If library neither owns journal in print nor has access online, fill out a periodical interlibrary loan request.

Web Resources

U.S. Department of Justice: - parent agency of many federal criminal justice agencies; - FBI, Bureau of Prisons, Bureau of Justice Statistics; Location: http://www.usdoj.gov/
Michigan State University Library: Criminal Justice Resources: - links to and descriptions of guides to finding criminal justice materials on the web; Location: http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust/comp.htm

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