LibGuides: CJ 315: Research Methods: Home

This guide will provide general resources for CJ315: Research methods in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security.

Additional library research guides can be found by using the links below.

Criminal Justice
by Laura Giacobbe Last Updated Nov 11, 2024 220 views this year
Legal Research
by Laura Giacobbe Last Updated Jul 9, 2024 10085 views this year
Literature Review
by Christine Forbes Last Updated Apr 3, 2024 73 views this year
Government Information
by Laura Giacobbe Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 68 views this year
Homeland Security
by Laura Giacobbe Last Updated Sep 24, 2024 105 views this year
Media Literacy & Misinformation
by Lisa Iannucci Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 19615 views this year
Search Engines, Algorithms and Bias
by Laura Giacobbe Last Updated Jul 23, 2024 47 views this year

Writing Literature Reviews
Monmouth University's Writing Center's guide to getting started with literature reviews.
Writing a Research Proposal
Monmouth University's Writing Center's guide to writing a research proposal.

Getting Started

Not sure where to start your research or want to learn more about a topic? Try using one of the sources below to get background information on a topic before diving into research.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo contains full text encyclopedias and dictionaries.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Non-partisan reports on topics of national interest. Each article contains overview, chronology, pro/con, resources, and more. (1991-present)
SSRN - Tomorrow's Research, Today This link opens in a new window
An open-access preprint community providing services to academic schools & government institutions. Scholars can post their early research, collaborate on theories and discoveries, and get credit for their ideas before peer-reviewed publication. SSRN is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research and is composed of a number of specialized research networks.

Where Do I Go To Find...

CQ Congress Collection
. This collection is a powerful research and reference tool for analyzing the history and development, legislation, powers, and personalities of the U.S. Congress. This wealth of data is presented with nonbiased commentary and vital biographical and voting data for members of Congress.
Govinfo.gov
This site provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government and allows you to search, browse and download documents. Includes full-text Federal Register, Congressional Record, Hearing, Presidential Documents, Budget, and more.

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline is the world's largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It contains comprehensive coverage from inception of U.S. statutory materials, U.S. Congressional Documents and more than 2,700 scholarly journals. HeinOnline provides topic specific databases including all of the world's constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, Criminal Justice, Religion and the Law, and Women and the Law among others. Full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase is included.
Westlaw Campus Research Law, News and Business This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of primary and secondary law for thorough research.

Westlaw Campus Research Law, News and Business This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of primary and secondary law for thorough research.

Govinfo.gov
This site provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government and allows you to search, browse and download documents. Includes full-text Federal Register, Congressional Record, Hearing, Presidential Documents, Budget, and more.

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline is the world's largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It contains comprehensive coverage from inception of U.S. statutory materials, U.S. Congressional Documents and more than 2,700 scholarly journals. HeinOnline provides topic specific databases including all of the world's constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, Criminal Justice, Religion and the Law, and Women and the Law among others. Full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase is included.

Google Scholar
Google Scholar offers free access to published opinions of U.S. state, appellate, and supreme court cases since 1950; U.S. federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts since 1923; and U.S. Supreme Court cases since 1791.

Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new window
The Chronicle of Higher Education has the nation’s largest newsroom dedicated to covering colleges and universities.

Law Journal Library
he Law Journal Library is HeinOnline's signature collection of more than 3,200 fully searchable, image-based journals, each dating back to the first issue ever published. This scholarly journals database spans more than 43 million pages and 40 disciplines, bridging a crucial research gap.
Law Reviews & Journals (Westlaw)
his subscription contains more than 600 law reviews and journals, providing incisive, authoritative, and professional insight. Coverage begins with the early 1980s for top law reviews, such as the Harvard Law Review.
Law Research Centers Papers (SSRN)
SSRN, formerly known as Social Science Research Network, is an open access research platform used to share early-stage research, evolve ideas, measure results, and connect scholars around the world. From submission to distribution, the potential is there for your research to reach millions of SSRN viewers and subscribers around the world.

Business Market Research Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
This database contains company, industry, economic and geopolitical market research from three sources, including Hoover's Company Profiles, OxResearch from Oxford Analystica, and Snapshots
Reference USA This link opens in a new window
Provides detailed, current directory information on more than 12 million U.S. Businesses, 102 million U.S. residents, 683,000 U.S. healthcare providers, 1 million Canadian businesses and 11 million Canadian residents.

Company Investigator (Westlaw)
"Company Investigator on Westlaw consolidates a wealth of business data to eliminate hours of research while helping you make informed decisions. Whether you need to access corporate filings, negative news, or other adverse records, Company Investigator offers a full suite of business solutions, so you can get the job done quicker."
ProQuest Research Library
Offers a mix of trade and academic journals and news information in business.

Wall Street Journal (full interface) This link opens in a new window
Full consumer interface of the Wall Street Journal

ABI/INFORM Complete
Business, Management and Trade - scholarly and trade journal articles, dissertations, market reports, industry reports, business cases and global and trade news

Best Bet Databases in Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text contains more than 300,000 records selected from the most important sources within the discipline. This resource includes full text for more than 200 magazines and journals as well full text books & monographs. Hosted on the EBSCOhost platform.
Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Criminology and criminal justice - journal articles
Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
composed of homeland security related documents collected from a wide variety of sources. These include federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, professional organizations, think tanks, academic institutions, and international governing bodies.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline is the world's largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It contains comprehensive coverage from inception of U.S. statutory materials, U.S. Congressional Documents and more than 2,700 scholarly journals. HeinOnline provides topic specific databases including all of the world's constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, Criminal Justice, Religion and the Law, and Women and the Law among others. Full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase is included.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
Find bibliographic information and abstracts of more than 230,000 collection resources, including over 80,000 online materials and all known Office of Justice Programs' works.

PsycINFO (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Hosted on the EBSCOhost platform.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Non-partisan reports on topics of national interest. Each article contains overview, chronology, pro/con, resources, and more. (1991-present)
Westlaw Campus Research Law, News and Business This link opens in a new window
Students can work more efficiently and productively, and with more confidence, with Thomson Reuters Westlaw Campus Research, a premier research service for the legal, news, and business-related information they need.
American Prison Newspapers, 1800s-present: Voices from the Inside This link opens in a new window
American Prison Newspapers is a collection of digitized newspapers originally published by incarcerated persons in United States prisons. The collection spans the years of 1800-2020, and it includes newspapers from across the United States and from penal institutions of all kinds, including women's-only institutions. These newspapers give readers a firsthand perspective of life in U.S. prisons, revealing the news, issues, and commentary that mattered to prisoners.