This page will provide you with some tips and tricks to make your research a breeze! If you still can't find what you need, please don't hesitate to contact the library! You can find our contact information and more on the Get Help page.
To get you started, here are some general search strategies:
Keyword Strategies
Use these keywords in a general search in any one of our recommended databases or inside DragonQuest:
- History of punishment
- Prison riots in the United States
- Determinate sentencing
- Security threat groups
- Prison treatment programs
- Prison privatization
- Gender and prison
- Exile AND Criminal Justice
- Appeals Court System
- Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Subject Strategies
Searching for results by subject heading, rather than by keywords, can help you focus your search in new directions. Consider these subject search options:
- Prison riots
- Judicial process - United States
- Correctional rehabilitation
- Imprisonment - United States
- False imprisonment
The following image shows you how to change your search to a subject search by using the dropdown menu inside DragonQuest:
Research Starters
Need some extra guidance? Try a Research Starter:
What is a Research Starter?
Research Starters are encyclopedia entries, so they are more of an "idea gathering" mechanism than a scholarly source to support your stance on an issue. They provide you with background information on a broad topic and highlight keywords you can use and/or links to source material to get you started on your research.
Narrowing DragonQuest Search Results
If you'd like to know how to narrow down your DragonQuest list to only full text, peer reviewed, or specific types of resources, we recommend the following tutorial:
DragonQuest Advanced SearchingAdvanced search tab of the DragonQuest tutorial which discusses methods for focusing a search to a more specific type of item.
Recommended Reading
Looking for an eBook on topics related to this course? We recommend the following:
Private Prisons by Charles H. LoganCall Number: Online
ISBN: 9780195063530
Publication Date: 1990-07-26
American prisons and jails are overflowing with inmates. To relieve the pressure, courts have imposed fines on overcrowded facilities and fiscally strapped governments have been forced to release numerous prisoners prematurely. In this study, noted criminologist Charles Logan makes the case for commercial operation of prisons and jails as an alternative to the government's monopoly. On philosophical, economic, legal, and practical grounds, Logan argues a compelling case for the private and commercial operation of prisons. He critically examines all objections raised by opponents, and concludes that while private prisons face many potential problems, they do so primarily because they are prisons, not because they are private. Historically, the record of private ownership and operation of corrections facilities has been bleak--ridden with political corruption, physical abuse of prisoners, and the single-minded pursuit of profits. This study demonstrates that this need not be the case. Critiquing the tendency to contrast private prisons with a hypothetical ideal, Logan instead compares them with existing public institutions, arguing that the potential problems attributed to private prisons are experienced by their public counterparts. The work examines ten sets of issues, including the propriety, cost, security, and quantity of prisons, to set out a strong case for the viability of proprietary prisons.
Private Prisons by