Library databases are digital collections of information sources, including (but not limited to):

• Popular magazines -- best for current topics where you only need basic information.
• Newspapers -- best for news, current, or even historical information.
• Scholarly journals -- great for college-level research. Best when you need data, details, and original research.
• Trade journals -- a magazine with information geared towards a specific profession or industry. Best for trends, commentary, and overviews of research.

Library databases are easily searchable by keywords and results can be filtered by date, publication, date of publication, and publisher. Most provide access to full-text articles.

A keyword search in a library database will search the titles, summaries, publication information, and full-text of articles, leading to thousands of results. Because of this, focusing your search so the results are specific and relevant to your topic is crucial.

When you search a library database, you have to use specific search terms. You don't want to just look up the term "prison," because that is too general. Ask yourself, what do I want to know about prisons? Then add a term based on your answer to that question.

Some suggested search terms (and research topics) are:

• Crime
• Types of crime:
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Drug & alcohol problems (underage, abuse, trafficking, etc.)
  • Drunk driving
  • Gun control
  • Hate crimes
  • Identity theft
  • School violence
  • War crimes
• Prisons / correctional facilities
• Prison overcrowding
• Criminals (types of offenders)
  • Juveniles (juvenile delinquency)
  • Gang members
  • Citizens
• Law
• Law enforcement
• Police officers
• Police brutality
• Police corruption
• Corrections officers
• Prisoner rehabilitation / re-entry
  • Specific programs like: adventure therapy, college programs, career training
• Capital punishment (death penalty)
• Recidivism

The following Criminal Justice journals are available in print in the Library's Periodicals room. (Please note that these titles may also be available on our online databases.)

Criminology (2019 - 2020)
Criminology & Public Policy (2019 - 2020)
 

You can search for other journals using Publication Finder. You can search for a specific title or browse by keywords to see what is available.

If you need to do research in the legal field, you may want to try the Paralegal Research Guide. For a quick overview of Westlaw, take a look at these slides.

EBSCO Discovery Service is a tool that allows you to search a large portion of the Library's collection using a single search box. Your search will return articles from our databases, access to ebooks, streaming videos and information on print books at both the Bethlehem and Pocono Libraries.