GCSU Library Subject Guide
Criminal Justice

Reference Sources         Subject Headings        Articles        Web Sites        Citing Sources        Contact A Librarian



Reference Sources
The Reference Collection, located on the second floor of the GCSU Library, is often the best place to start your research.  Books in the Reference Collection can help you become more familiar with your topic and assist you with identifying keywords and important people.  Bibliographies can help you identify specific articles and books.
    Criminal Justice (Ref KF 9214.5 .C75 2006): an alphabetically arranged encyclopedia covering criminals, laws, law enforcement agencies, court systems, prisons, drugs, juvenile justice, and victims.

    Criminal Justice Information: How to Find it, How to Use It (Ref HV 7419.5 .C75 1998): organizes various sources of criminal justice information, such as statistical reports, directories, agency reports, scholarly books and journals, bibliographies, government documents, databases, and web sites.

    Encyclopedia of Criminology (Ref HV 6017 .E5295 2005): alphabetically arranged entries cover the following major areas: the history of criminology, criminal law, criminal behavior, victimization, the justice system, professional issues, and notable people in criminology and criminal justice.

    Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior (Ref HV 6017 .E53 2001): a four-volume encyclopedia. Volume 1: Historical, Conceptual and Theoretical Issues; volume 2: Crime and Juvenile Delinquency; volume 3: Sexual Deviance; and volume 4: Self-Destructive Behavior and Disvalued Identity.

    Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities (Ref HV 9471 .E693 2005): an alphabetically arranged resource dealing themes such as prison architecture, punishment, prison populations, prison reform, juvenile justice, prison staffs, and privatization.

    Encyclopedia of Terrorism: (Ref HV 6431 .K883 2003): an alphabetically arranged encyclopedia providing global coverage of all aspects of terrorism. The book also includes a chronology of terrorist attacks in the United States and on U.S. interests abroad.

    The Historical Atlas of American Crime (Ref HV 6779 .R67 2005): a chronologically arranged resource covering crime in America from colonial times to the present.

    World of Criminal Justice (Ref HV 7411 .W67 2002): an alphabetically arranged encyclopedia with concise entries on important people, topics, concepts, and organization in the field of criminal justice.

Subject Headings
Using the correct subject headings for your topic will help you get more relevant results when searching the Library Catalog.  Below is a concise list of subject headings for the field of Criminal Justice.  For a more complete list, you can perform a Subject Heading search using the Exact Search feature in the Library Catalog.
    Crime
    Crime analysis
    Crime and the press
    Crime prevention
      Juvenile delinquency Prevention
      Gang prevention
      Organized crime Prevention
    Crime scenes
    Crime Sociological aspects
    Crimes without victims
      Drug abuse
      Obscenity (Law)
      Prostitution
      Substance abuse
    Criminal behavior
    Criminal courts
    Criminal investigation
    Criminal justice
    Criminal law
      Capitol punishment
      Embezzlement
      Libel and slander
    Criminal procedure
    Criminal psychology
    Criminal statistics
    Criminals
      Gangs
      Juvenile delinquents
      Recidivists
      Terrorists
      Stalkers
      Violent Offenders
    Criminals rehabilitation
    Criminology
    Drug abuse and crime
    Evidence, criminal
    Forensic Sciences
    Murder
    Organized crime
    Rape
    Victims of crime
    Violent crimes

Articles
    Databases
    Most databases index articles from journals, newspapers, and magazines.  Some databases offer full text articles, while others contain only citations.  Some databases are subject specific, while others are more general in coverage.  Some databases relevant to the field of Criminal Justice are:
      Academic Search Complete is a multidisciplinary database that contains articles from academic journals and magazines in the humanities, the social sciences, and the general sciences.

      Georgia Code is the compilation of the laws of the state of Georgia that are currently in force. The database is searchable by keyword and by code number.

      Research Library is a multidisciplinary database that contains articles from academic journals and magazines in the humanities, the social sciences, and the general sciences.

      For a more complete list of Criminal Justice databases, see the GALILEO Law and Criminology page.



    Journal Locator
    Search for specific journals or magazines.  The Journal Locator will tell you the location and availability of a journal or magazine: either in the GCSU Periodicals Collection or in a database.


    Online Journals
      ERCES Online Quarterly Review: the official journal of the European & International Research Group on Crime, Ethics, and Social Philosophy.

      [jc2m], journal for crime, conflict and media culture: "a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal exploring the critical nexus of media culture, criminal justice and conflict."

      JCJPC, journal of criminal justice and popular culture

      Journal of Prisoners on Prisons: "a prisoner written, academically oriented & peer reviewed, non-profit journal."

      NIJ Journal: published by the National Institute of Justice, the NIJ Journal "features articles to help criminal justice policymakers and practitioners stay informed about new developments."

      Western Criminology Review: the official journal of the Western Society of Criminology.

      *All quotes are taken from the respective journal web sites.




Web Sites


Contact A Librarian
For further assistance, contact the Reference Desk in the GCSU Library or contact the GCSU Library liaison to the Department of Government and Sociology:
    Liaison: Edward Whatley

    Email: edward.whatley@gcsu.edu

    Phone: (478) 445-0981