Pathfinder Criminal Justice

  ...resources in the Drain-Jordan Library, West Virginia State College.
How do I get started? Our Reference Department is a great place to get started; it has subject specific dictionaries, handbooks, field guides, and encyclopedias which will help you define and focus your research topic. Reference librarians are on duty at all hours and they are willing and able to assist you. Criminal justice materials use LC call number ranges: H (Social Sciences), J (Political Science), and K (Law).
INDEXES
* Criminal Justice Abstracts. CD-ROM. Main Lobby. Indexes all the literature -- journals, reports, books -- of criminology and criminal justice. 
* Criminal Justice Periodicals Index (CJPI), Index Tables. Periodicals Room. Indexes a wide variety of periodicals in the fields of criminal justice, prisons, probation, and policing. Uses a vocabulary unique to criminal justice.
* Social Sciences Index. Index Tables. Periodicals Room. Indexes the periodical literature of the social sciences, including criminology. Excellent index to use when your topic combines another social science field such as psychology, gerontology, or international relations.
INTERNET INDEXES
We subscribe to several large Internet-based periodical indexes (http://library.wvsc.edu/infotrp.html) which can provide you with full-text articles. "EBSCOHost" and "Infotrac" contain general academic databases useful for researching current topics in criminology and sociology.
Where do I find periodicals?
Use our Periodical Holdings List (http://library.wvsc.edu/periodhl.html) online. Also, we publish this list each semester and scatter them throughout the library. This alphabetical list tells you what titles we own, the years and volumes, and the format. Library staff will help you find the titles in our Periodicals Room. (Periodicals cannot be checked out, but may be photocopied.)
REFERENCE BOOKS
You might also try a few of the many reference titles. Suggestions:
* Crime Dictionary -- Ref HV 6025 .D43
* Crime and Justice, A Review of Research -- Ref HV 6001 .C672 
* Crime and Justice in American History -- Ref HV 6325 .C74 
* Dictionary of American Penology -- Ref HV 9304 .W54
* Encyclopedia of American Prisons -- Ref HV 9471 .E425
* Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice -- Ref HV 6017 .E52
* Encyclopedia of Police Science -- Ref HV 7901 .E53
* Encyclopedia of World Crime -- Ref HV 6017 .E55 
* Roxbury Dictionary of Criminal Justice -- Ref HV 7411 .C48
* Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics -- Ref HV 7245 .N37b
* West Virginia Code -- Ref KFW 1230 .A22 
CIRCULATING BOOKS
Since reference books must remain in the library, it may be necessary for you to search the online catalog (http://library.wvsc.edu:8000/cgi-bin/chameleon) for circulating books. The catalog allows simple (Title, Author, Subject, Keyword) searches and more complex boolean (AND, OR, NOT) searches. The (search) type has a drop down menu for selection of the field to search. Try selecting a subject search and entering the subject of your paper or presentation. You can use terms you found in reference works, or check the Library of Congress Subject Headings, the "Big Red" books, located in the lobby area, for possible subject terms.
INTERNET RESOURCES
* Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov). The official government web site for the Department of Justice.
* Justice Information Center (http://www.ncjrs.org). A collection of clearinghouses providing extensive information, documents, and links about criminal and juvenile justice. 
* Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/). Presents data in the form of over 600 tables, from more than 100 sources, about all aspects of criminal justice in the United States.
* Statistical Abstract of the United States (http://www.census.gov/statab/www/). A collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States.
* Uniform Crime Reports, 1996- . (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm). Data in the form of tables issued by the F.B.I. on crime in the United States.
* United States Code (http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong013.html). The online, searchable version of the U. S. Code.
* West Virginia Code (http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Code/toc.html). The West Virginia Code covers all the laws currently in effect. The WWW version is updated annually.
* Our Reference Page's Law & Legislation section (http://library.wvsc.edu/refp.html#LAW-LEGISLATION)
and the Homework Page's Criminal Justice section (http://library.wvsc.edu/homework.html#CRIMINAL-JUSTICE).

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