Criminal Justice

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:

• Contemporary issues in Criminal Justice
• Ethics in Criminal Justice
• Law enforcement recruitment
• Gender equity in policing
• Drug epidemic in America
• Grand jury process
• Crime Data Collection
• White Collar Crimes
• Gang Violence
• Drug Related Crime
• Body Worn Cameras
• Mental Illness AND Criminal Justice
• Religious Extremism
• Political Extremism
• White Nationalism

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:

• Law enforcement
• Criminal justice, Administration of
• White Nationalism
• White Collar Crimes
• Wearable Video Devices
• Black Lives Matter Movement
• Gang Violence
• Drug-Related Crime
• Community Mental Health Services
• Social Tension

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:

• Police Corruption

• Police Brutality:  Overview

• Police Reform in the United States

• Prison Overcrowding

• Drug Legalization

• Extremism

• Forensics

• White Nationalism

• Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism

• Sociology of Addiction

• Human Trafficking

• Body-Worn Video

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. 

Pro/Con Resources

The databases listed here can help you locate both sides of arguments related to topics covered in this course:

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:

If you'd like additional guidance on using Academic Writer, we recommend the following tutorial: