Kraemer Family Library
Instructor: Paul Guidry
Spring 2010
Library Guide for CJ 2041: Criminal Theory and Causes
For this class, you'll research a specific crime or criminal and relate it back to theory learned in this class. This paper requires you to use at least 3 scholarly journal articles; hence this guide will focus more on finding that type of research.
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
When you need to find scholarly journal articles, use library databases! The Kraemer Family Library has access to over 100 different databases and each one offers different features and searches different journals. This guide recommends a few databases, but you may browse them all at Library Databases.
Researching off campus? You'll need to install the Library VPN to access the Library's electronic resources off campus. Directions for Installing the Library VPN.
Choosing the Best Database
There is not one "perfect" database. You will have to search several, different databases. I highly recommend starting with General Databases and then moving to more Subject Specific Databases.
Finding Articles Not Available at UCCS
ILLiad
If the Library doesn't have access to the article you want, you can still get it through interlibrary loan. With an ILLiad account, you can place your requests online and be sent an electronic copy of the article you requested. This service can take anywhere from a few days to two weeks depending on the journal.
General Databases
General databases cover a wide range of topics and should include your topic. Listed below are a few recommended general databases; if you get no relevant results while searching in these, try changing your keywords. More databases are listed on the General Database page.
Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science)
This database only searches scholarly journals and has features to track both references in an article as well who has cited that research since publication. Sounds complicated? View these two tutorials: Search Tips and Web of Science Tutorial.
Journals in SSCI: Complete Journal List or View by Subject
Sage Online Journals
A full-text, multidisciplinary database covering more than 520 scholarly journals in business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology and medicine.
Journals in Sage Online: Complete Journal List
Academic Search Premier
Searches general news sources like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to major, scholarly journals such as Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health and Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency. Remember to limit to your results to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals!
Journals in Academic Search Premier: Complete Journal List
Subject Specific Databases
These databases are much more focused as they only search journals in that subject area. Databases are organized by subject on the Library Databases page.
Your topic will determine what the best subject databases are for you. For example, if you are doing a study on Ted Bundy, you would definitely use the databases listed under Criminal Justice (for criminal justice journals), but you might also want to look in Psychology Databases (for behavioral or mental health related topics) or Sociology Databases (for behavior and social aspects).
Criminal Justice Databases
This section only lists a few recommended databases in criminal justice. Find more under Criminal Justice Databases.
Criminal Justice Periodicals Index
A comprehensive database of U.S. and international criminal justice journals. Includes scholarly and non-scholarly publications, but you can limit to just scholarly publications by
Journals in Criminal Justice Periodicals Index: Complete Journal List
NCJRS Abstracts Database
A free database that contains a mixture of scholarly journals, books and government information. To tell if the article is a journal, a journal title will be listed. If no journal title is listed, then the item is referring to a book or a government document. Sounds complicated? Try the NCJRS Online Tutorial.
Sociological Abstracts
Abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology, including areas of criminal justice. Includes book abstracts, general publications and scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.
Journals in Sociological Abstracts: Complete Journal List
LexisNexis Academic
This database provides court cases and decisions as well as law review journals. Click on the Legal button on the top, left side of the page and then click on either the Law Reviews link (for law review journals) or on the Federal & State Cases link (to search for actual court cases). NOTE: Court cases are not scholarly journal articles, but articles under the Law Review section may be. If you are unsure, search that journal's name in Ulrich's Web.
Additional Database Tips
Creating Search Alerts
Search alerts allow you to do a search once and be automatically notified you whenever new articles are added that fit your search criteria. Each database will treat their search alerts differently, but most include an option for creating alerts via email or RSS. Follow these links for more information:
- Creating Custom Search Alerts (covers EBSCO databases like Academic Search Premier, Public Administration Abstracts and more)
- Creating Search Alerts in Web of Science (use this for Social Science Citation Index)
- Creating Search Alerts in Proquest Databases (use this for Criminal Justice Periodicals Index)
- Creating Search Alerts in CSA Databases (use this for Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts and PAIS International)
Found the perfect article?
Mine that article's references! You can find wonderful journal articles and books listed in the bibliography or references listed in that article.
Not sure if that journal is scholarly?
Search that journal's name in Ulrich's Web! Ulrich's Web contains journal information such as whether or not a journal is peer-reviewed (aka scholarly).
Locating Books
When you need to find books, use library catalogs!
Kraemer Library Catalog
The online catalog that searches for books, movies and government documents at UCCS.
Once you have your call number, you'll need to find it in the Kraemer Family Library. Most books are located in the Main Collection, which is the top floor in the Library. Use the 3rd floor Library Map to pinpoint a general location of your book.
Finding Books Off Campus
Can't find what you are looking for in the Library? Here a few solutions:
Prospector
A Colorado state wide library catalog that includes both public and academic libraries. An excellent resource, but it will take 3-5 business days for books to arrive.
Useful Websites
Bureau of Justice Statistics
This government website can provide great background information or statistics on a topic. NOTE: This is not a scholarly resource! This is government information, which can be useful, but does fulfill your scholarly journal article quota.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
This website complies 100 sources about different topics of criminal justice in the United States. NOTE: This is not a scholarly resource! This is government information, which can be useful, but does fulfill your scholarly journal article quota.
More Research Help
Feel free to contact me directly, Tabatha Farney, Criminal Justice Librarian, at tfarney@uccs.edu. I can answer your question via email or we can set up an appointment to talk one-on-one about your research needs.