Subject Librarian
Finding Background Information
These sources can help you identify or narrow a topic, provide reliable background information in order to gain a general overview of a topic, and provide context.
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The Encyclopedia of Crime and PunishmentFocuses on the multi/interdisciplinary and international aspects of topics and historical perspectives on crime and punishment around the world.
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Oxford Handbooks Online: Criminology and Criminal JusticeHandbooks with review essays in the field of criminal justice. We have access to all of the handbooks in this collection.
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Credo ReferenceUse to find quick facts, images or background information on various topics in dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Constructing a Keyword Search
AND both terms must be present: crime AND women
OR either term may be present: women OR females
* finds characters beyond the root word (some databases have other symbols)
communit* will search for community as well as communities
Pay attention to subject terms or descriptors located in article databases. These terms will give you ideas for other keywords. Sometimes less is more. If your search has a lot of aspects to it, focus on a few of the most important concepts.