Below are links to databases and electronic resources that support the study of criminal justice policy and related areas of research.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Databases that offer multidisciplinary coverage of criminal justice policy literature from scholarly and non-scholarly sources.
- CQ Researcher -- in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Reports are published weekly 44 times a year.
- Google Scholar -- the scholarly part of the Google empire. To set up Google Scholar with access to full-text journals and databases, go here.
- JSTOR -- a multidisciplinary archive of scholarly journal articles covering most major disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Useful for identifying historical research on a topic.
- Policy Commons -- platform for objective, fact-based research from the world’s leading policy experts, nonpartisan think tanks, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The database provides advanced searching across millions of pages of books, articles, working papers, reports, policy briefs, data sets, tables, charts, media, case studies, and statistical publications, including archived reports from more than 200 defunct think tanks.
- ProQuest -- comprehensive, multidisciplinary database of newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles updated daily. Content is more focused and manageable than Google Scholar.
SPECIALIZED RESEARCH RESOURCES
Key Database
- Criminal Justice Database -- a comprehensive database supporting research on crime, its causes and impacts, legal and social implications, as well as litigation and crime trends. The database bridges theory with practice by providing information geared to those interested in conducting research about criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family law, and industrial security as well as the causes, trends, and societal impacts of crime.
- HeinOnline Law Journal Library -- provides access to more than 3,000 searchable, pdf formatted legal and other disciplinary journals. Coverage is from the first issue published for all periodicals. Excellent resource for searching the legal literature on any aspect of law.
Related Research Resources
- Abstracts in Social Gerontology -- provides access to research studies covering essential areas related to social gerontology and geriatrics, including the psychology of aging, elder abuse, society and the elderly, and other key areas of relevance to the discipline. Coverage dates back to 1966 and includes abstracts from books, journals, magazines and trade publications.
- ERIC -- database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to education literature. Coverage of journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, and books. Coverage is from 1966 to the present.
- Family Studies Abstracts -- this database includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to family studies, including marriage, divorce, family therapy, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. May be useful in identifying research on the relationships between criminal justice and family dynamics.
- Public Administration Abstracts -- provides information on public administration-related publications worldwide covering such areas as administration and economy, administration and politics, administration and society, administrative structures and organization, public and social services, public service personnel, and theory and method.
- Social Services Abstracts -- provides coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development, evaluation research, policy planning and forecasting, support groups/networks, and welfare services.
- Social Work Abstracts -- summarizes articles in more than 450 English language journals in all areas of social work, including theory and practice, areas of service, social issues, social problems, child and family welfare, legislation, and community organization. Coverage is from 1966 to the present. Facilitates access to research that investigates the relationships between criminal justice and issues of child welfare and community development.
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Violence and Abuse Abstracts -- provides access to articles related to violence and abuse, including family violence, sexual assault, emotional abuse, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline.
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
Databases that offer the opportunity to understand and contemplate the implications of policy decisions through the eyes of those who may be most impacted by those decisions.
- AgeLine -- provides access to aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, and public policy. Sources include scholarly journals, books, book chapters, reports, dissertations, consumer guides, and educational videos from 1966-present.
- Chicano Database -- bibliographic index focuses on the Mexican-American and Chicano experience, and the broader Latino experience of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans and Central American immigrants since 1992. Covers Chicano/a art, education, folklore, health. history, labor, language and literature, music, politics, public policy, religion, sociology, and women's studies.
- Child Development and Adolescent Studies -- provides citations to current and historical social and behavioral sciences literature related to growth and development of children through the age of 21, including book reviews, abstracts from hundreds of journals, technical reports, books, book chapters, and theses and dissertations.
- Ethnic NewsWatch -- includes current and archival coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic and minority presses. Very important database for gaining a perspective and an understanding of civic engagement from underrepresented groups and minorities.
- GenderWatch -- a full-text database that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, NGO and special reports.
- LGBT Life -- the premier resource to the world\'s literature regarding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues with coverage that includes traditional academic, lifestyle, and regional publications, as well as non-periodical content such as non-fiction books, bibliographies and dissertations.
DATA AND STATISTICS
- Bureau of Justice Statistics -- an agency committed to collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
- National Archive of Criminal Justice Data -- facilitates access to research in criminal justice and criminology through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; and through specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.
- Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics -- brings together data from more than one hundred published and unpublished reports from State and Federal agencies, research centers, universities, private companies, and other organizations concerning many aspects of criminal justice in the United States.
Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.