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Criminal Justice

Databases

How to Search for Articles Using Databases

Databases are a great place to start your search for scholarly articles since they provide the opportunity to search across a huge number of publications at once. A list of databases relevant to criminal justice can be found at the bottom of this page. 

TIP: When using the databases, try BOOLEAN searching. 

Boolean describes the connecting word you use between your search terms such as AND, OR, & NOT. Using these connectors allows you the ability to link search terms, so you can find articles that address multiple subjects.

These options are sometimes found in drop down menus where you enter your search terms, or you will have to enter them yourself between terms. In EBSCO databases, you can find Boolean terms in drop down menus to the left of the fields where you enter your search terms.

Adding OR between search terms will search for all records with one term OR the other (this is a broader search tool).
Using AND between words will search for all records with BOTH or ALL search terms applied.  
If you use NOT between the terms, it will search for the FIRST word in your search string and NOT the other. 

 

Search the following databases to find articles for your research: 

Databases

Search Tips

"Tips and tricks" tutorials for more efficient searching.
ALWAYS refer to the searching help of the database you are using.

Boolean Logic

(dogs or canines) Use OR to increase retrieval
(dogs and canines) Use AND to limit retrieval
((dogs or canines) NOT felines) Use NOT to severely limit retrieval

Google Cheat Sheet

TRUNCATION

To capture variant forms of word endings, determine the stem of the word and follow it with the database truncation symbol, usually an asterisk (*). This is particularly useful to retrieve singular and plural forms of a word.
ALWAYS refer to the searching help of the database you are using.

Example: librar* will retrieve: library, libraries, librarian, librarianship, etc.

WILDCARDS

Some databases will allow the insertion of a special character in the middle of a word in order to retrieve variant spellings of a word. This is particularly useful to retrieve American and British terms.
ALWAYS refer to the searching help of the database you are using.

Example: colo#r will retrieve: color or colour