Library Home: Criminal Justice Research Guide: Articles & Databases

Recommended Databases & Resources

Academic Search Complete Academic Search Complete offers full-text journals and includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of subject areas for academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text Full-text database for peer-reviewed criminal justice research, as well as, relevant content for psychology and sociology.
Journals and magazines related to criminal justice and criminology including: Corrections and prisons, Criminal investigations, Forensic sciences and investigation, Substance abuse and addiction, Probation and parole.
SAGE Journals SAGE is the world's 5th largest journals publisher. Includes more than 1000 journals spanning the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology, and Medicine, and more than 400 are published on behalf of learned societies and institutions.
Sociological Abstracts Sociological Abstracts indexes the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It includes the companion file Social Services Abstracts, which provides bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas.
Social Services Abstracts provides bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations as well as citations to book reviews.

California Legislative Information - this database has features like the quick bill search, quick code search, and provides users with information on California law, bill information, and legislative publications.
Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL)- is the nation’s premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management.
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service - provides access to recent publications, online resources, and upcoming events.

HeinOnline’s Gun Regulation and Legislation in America HeinOnline’s Gun Regulation and Legislation in America brings together essential periodicals, compiled legislative histories, CRS reports, Congressional hearings, United States Supreme Court briefs, monographs, and other related materials on the difficult and controversial topic of regulating firearms in the United States.

Searching in Databases

Create a Research statement
1. This can be in the form of a question or a sentence. Just think about what you want to research and write it down in one sentence.
Identify the keywords
1. Look at your research statement. What are the main words or concepts? They will likely be nouns, and can include phrases. Highlight them.
Think of synonyms
1. Look at the words/phrases you highlighted and think of synonyms or alternate phrases to describe those concepts. Scholarly articles often use words that we wouldn’t use in ordinary life.
Search in databases
1. Pick two or three words/phrases from your list. Put each concept in its own search box.
Repeat
1. Try different combinations of words to get different results. Add more words to narrow down your results. Look at the “Subject” headings for each article to see what keywords are being used the most.

Peer Reviewed Articles

Components & Importance

Original scholarly research conducted by experts within a field or discipline
Prior to publication, work is reviewed by other scholars or experts within that same discipline
Peer-review ensure that the information being presented to you based on solid evidence and scientific facts, not opinions
Provides a level of quality control
They generally include: Introduction, literature review, method, analysis, conclusion, and references

*Note: Peer reviewed articles are important because they represent the most scholarly, most authoritative information within a given field.

Criminal Justice Research Tips

When conducting research you may run into differing language and terms. For example, someone incarcerated in a prison or jail can be called: Prisoner; Delinquent; Inmate; Deviant; Criminal; Offender; or Incarcerated person

While these terms do have some variation in meaning, they are often used interchangeable with one another. Writers and researchers may not always use the same terms as their colleagues. Therefore it is important to be aware of the different synonyms that exist for a term. Be sure to experiment in your database searching by trying a variety of synonyms; you may uncover more resources.

*Information adapted from CSUDH's CJ Libguide

Writing & Academic Resources

Looking for additional resources for your research and academic goals? Take advantage of these services!

Writing Resource Center - You can make an appointment by contacting at wrc@csub.edu. Or, you may view their citation and writing resources online via their webpage.
Education Workshops - All students are welcome to attend to gain strategies and tips to improve their writing skills to succeed with integrity, decision-making skills, and/or get help with citation and writing styles from experts.
Tutoring Services - Provides information on the Writing Resource Center, the Math Tutoring Center, SSE Tutoring Center, Arts & Humanities Tutoring Center, and more.

Search Tip

TIP! Entering a Google-type search into library research databases often retrieves irrelevant results.To search like a pro, watch these tutorials on search strategies. Would you like individual assistance? Feel free to contact your librarian by making an appointment or calling.