This guide is intended to assist students performing research on Criminal Justice topics. It suggests both print and Internet resources available, but it is by no means a comprehensive list of all materials available either in the library or on the Web.
The Online Catalog is an excellent place to start your research, especially if you are tracking historical data. It will allow you to identify books in the Davis Memorial Library about your topic in Criminal Justice. The Online Catalog is available from any Internet accessible computer at http://davislibrary.methodist.edu/. Use the Keyword search to locate materials. Type in the concepts you are looking for, using "and" to combine terms (e.g. forensic and DNA).
Electronic databases are used to identify journal, magazine, or newspaper articles on a particular topic. Some databases are designated as full-text, which means that the whole text of the article is available in that database. You can print, save, or email that article. When using a database or any other tool in the library, always write down the full citation to an article (author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, date, and pages), so you will have this information for your bibliography.
Consult the Journal Holdings List to identify which periodicals are owned by the Library (print copies available in the Library or on the web at http://www.methodist.edu/library/elect/jrnllist.htm).
For a list of titles owned by the Library in the area of Criminology, go to http://www.methodist.edu/library/guides/jrnl/abscrime&law.htm.
For a list of databases, visit http://www.methodist.edu/library/elect/bysubj/crj.htm.
Academic
Search Premier
Academic Seach
Elite is a good starting point for most disciplines. It provides "abstracts
and indexing for over 3,200 scholarly journals covering a wide variety of
subject areas from 1984 to present and includes many complete articles from
over 1,000 journals, including 380 journals dating back to 1990." Over 50%
of the database is full text articles. If you are looking for scholarly journal
articles only, click the "Guided Search" tab and select the "Peer Reviewed"
check box.
Criminal
Justice Periodicals Index
"Criminal Justice Periodicals
provides comprehensive coverage of the major journals in criminology and related
disciplines, including forensics, law enforcement, corrections, and administration.
This database features a user friendly interface, indexing of over 224 titles,
and full text versions of over 50 titles. Search queries also display suggested
topics and suggested publication titles.
JSTOR (Arts & Sciences IV Collection)
JSTOR contains full text from over one hundred journals in the areas of law, psychology, and public policy and administration. JSTOR is NOT a current issues database; journal titles usually lack issues from the most recent 3-5 years. However, JSTOR is unique in that the full text represents an exact reproduction of the journal, from front to back. Search JSTOR as you would Academic Search Premier (or the Library's catalog), using AND, OR, etc. to combine terms.
Lexis-Nexis
Academic Universe
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Universe "provides full-text documents from over 5,600 news, business, legal,
medical, and reference publications with a variety of flexible search options."
Use this database to search newspapers, wire services, case law, business
filing, and much more.
NCJRS
(National Criminal Justice Reference Service) Abstracts Database
"The National Criminal
Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database contains summaries of more than
160,000 criminal justice publications, including Federal, State, and local
government reports, books, research reports, journal articles, and unpublished
research." This free database provides a number of its resources full-text
on the web. Some of the other articles indexed may be found in the Criminal
Justice vertical file, located in the North Wing of the Library. The unique
NCJRS publication number, located in each citation, should be used when looking
for articles in the Criminal Justice vertical file.
PsycArticles
"PsycArticles is an excellent
companion to PsychINFO. There are over 50 unique full-text titles in PsychArticles
- that's 50 full-text titles unavailable in other databases. With journal
coverage spanning 1987 - present, this is the database to use for scholarly
research articles in the areas of psychiatry, psychology, and neuroscience
with emphasis on social, familial, and occupational theory and practice.
PsycINFO
"PsycINFO "contains citations
and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports,
as well as citations to dissertations, all in the field of psychology and
psychological aspects of related disciplines, such as medicine, psychiatry,
nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology,
business, and law. Journal coverage, spanning 1887-present, includes international
material selected from more than 1,300 periodicals written in over 25 languages."
The Reference section of the library is a good place to develop possible topics, begin your research, and find critical pieces of information to finish your project. Try some of the following titles for information.
| Title | Location |
| Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U. S. Supreme Court | R 348.73 W538 1997 vol. 1-2 |
| Constitutional Rights Sourcebook | R 342.7302 R421c 1999 |
| Corpus Juris Secundum | R 348.026 C822 multivolume |
| CQ's Desk Reference on American Courts | R 347.731 B261c 1999 |
| Crime Classification Manual | R 364.012 C929 1992 |
| Crime State Rankings | R364 C929 |
| Dictionary of American Criminal Justice | R 364.03 C452d 1998 |
| Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States | R 364.66 P174e 2001 |
| Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice | R 364.0321 E56 2002 vol. 1-4 |
| Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behaviors | R 362.2903 R56 2000 vol. 1-4 |
| Encyclopedia of Police Science | R 363.203 E56 1995 |
| Encyclopedia of World Crime | R 364.9 N251e 1990 vol. 1-6 |
| Federal Practice and Procedure | R 374.735 W948f multivolume |
| Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court | R 347.73 M457i 2000 |
| Law of Sentencing, Probation, and Parole in North Carolina | R 345.756 C611l 1997 |
| North Carolina Crimes: A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime | R 345.756 U58n 1996 and Suppl. |
| Oxford Companion to American Law | R 348.73 O98 2002 |
| Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States | R 347.73260 O98 |
| Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics | R 364.973 S724 1979- |
| Strong's North Carolina Index | R 348.756 S923s multivolume |
| Supreme Court Reporter | R 348.734 W516 1997- |
| United States Code Annotated | R 348.7323 U583u multivolume |
| United States Supreme Court Reports | R 345.4 U58r |
| West's Encyclopedia of American Law | R 348.73 W538 1997 vol. 1-12 |
| West's North Carolina General Statutes | R 348.756 W516 |
| West's South Eastern Digest | R 348.73424 W516 multivolume |
Criminal Justice Links : http://www.methodist.edu/criminaljustice/cjlinks.htm - Prepared by the Department of Justice Studies at Methodist University, this should be your starting place for Internet Resources in Justice. Areas explored include: North Carolina and Federal Law Enforcement, Graduate Schools, Police Sites, Corrections, Law and Legal Links, and more.