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When you need information for research papers, you will save time and get better results if you look in the right place. Using Google is great if you are looking for cat videos or a place to order pizza, but not so good for academic research. For that, you should start from the IU Libraries web site. For research in criminal justice, start with this guide.
Encyclopedias can be a good place to start researching a new topic. They offer short guides to the current research and often include lists of other recommended sources. Here are a few criminal justice encyclopedias in our library catalog, IUCAT:
Criminal Justice in America: the Encyclopedia of Crime, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections [2 Volumes] by This work offers a thorough introduction to the field of criminal justice, including types of crime; policing; courts and sentencing; landmark legal decisions; and local, state, and federal corrections systems--and the key topics and issues within each of these important areas. It provides a complete overview and understanding of the many terms, jobs, procedures, and issues surrounding this growing field of study. Another major focus of the work is to examine ethical questions related to policing and courts, trial procedures, law enforcement and corrections agencies and responsibilities, and the complexion of criminal justice in the United States in the 21st century. Finally, this title emphasizes coverage of such politically charged topics as drug trafficking and substance abuse, immigration, environmental protection, government surveillance and civil rights, deadly force, mass incarceration, police militarization, organized crime, gangs, wrongful convictions, racial disparities in sentencing, and privatization of the U.S. prison system.
Encyclopedia of Street Crime in America by Anyone living or working in a city has feared or experienced street crime at one time or another; whether it be a mugging, purse snatching, or a more violent crime. In the U.S., street crime has recently hovered near historic lows; hence, the declaration of certain analysts that street life in America has never been safer. But is it really? Street crime has changed over past decades, especially with the advent of surveillance cameras in public places--the territory of the street criminal--but at the same time, criminals have found ways to adapt. This encyclopedic reference focuses primarily on urban lifestyle and its associated crimes, ranging from burglary to drug peddling to murder to new, more sophisticated forms of street crime and scams. This traditional A-to-Z reference has significant coverage of police and courts and other criminal justice sub-disciplines while also featuring thematic articles on the sociology of street crime. Features & Benefits: 175 signed entries within a single volume in print and electronic formats provide in-depth coverage to the topic of street crime in America. Cross-References and Suggestions for Further Readings guide readers to additional resources. Entries are supported by vivid photos and illustrations to better bring the material alive. A thematic Reader's Guide groups related entries by broad topic areas and, within the electronic version, combines with Cross-References and a detailed Index for convenient search-and-browse capabilities. A Chronology provides readers with a historical perspective of street crime in America. Appendices provide sources of data and statistics, annotated to highlight their relevance. 
Crime and Punishment in the U. S by This book offers a clear examination of the hard topics relating to types of crimes and types of punishment.This set offers clear, comprehensible, and authoritative treatment of the core aspects of criminal justice that should prove both accessible and engaging to nonspecialist readers. Essays focus on types of crimes, apprehension of wrongdoers, criminal trials, and types of punishment.Like the ""Criminal Justice"" set from which it is extracted, this new Magill's Choice set is designed to meet the needs of lay readers and students from middle school level and up. Its 266 alphabetically arranged articles address the types of questions that readers are most likely to bring. It retains many of the illustrative sidebars on media topics that enhanced Criminal Justice. Most of these sidebars explain relationships between the realities of criminal justice and depictions of the subject in films, television, fiction, and the news media.The set gives special attention to criminals: Who they are, what types of crimes they commit, what motivates them, the impact of their criminal activities on society, and the cost to them of their criminal activities.The set includes 40 core articles on specific categories of crime - ranging from animal abuse and arson to vandalism and white-collar crime. Each of these articles includes profiles of perpetrators of these crimes and summarizes what typically becomes of them.Nearly 100 articles pertain to issues on criminal defendants and about 45 articles on attorneys, judges, and trial procedures. A third thrust of the set is on corrections - sentencing, punishment, prison systems, prison conditions, and parole and pardons - subjects to which it devotes about 47 essays.Finally, the set contains 20 articles on municipal, state, and federal law-enforcement agencies, including specific agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Coast Guard.The essays in this three volume set range from 300 to 3,000 words, and are arranged alphabetically to enable readers to go directly to the topics in which they are most interested. Each article begins with ready reference top matter that highlights the most important aspects of the topic. Descriptive subheads break up the text in longer articles, and all the articles have Further Reading notes.Volume 3 contains a detailed general subject index and a list of topics by subject categories. Lists of cross-references to other articles follow every essay to guide readers to the most closely related articles. An extensive Glossary complements the essays.
Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement by This three-volume Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement provides a comprehensive, critical, and descriptive examination of all facets of law enforcement on the state and local, federal and national, and international stages. This work is a unique reference source that provides readers with informed discussions on the practice and theory of policing in an historical and contemporary framework.nbsp;The volumes treat subjects that are particular to the area of state and local, federal and national, and international policing. Many of the themes and issues of policing cut across disciplinary borders, however, and several entries provide comparative information that places the subject in context.... You can. In fact, here's a direct link to it to show that we don't hate it. But Google Scholar includes everything in one big bucket. If you do use Google Scholar, make sure your Scholar settings include a library link to Indiana University - Bloomington -- IU-Link, which will connect you to resources available to IU users.The search box above already has these settings.
