Susan Metcalf
Reference Librarian/Criminal Justice Liaison
Email: metcalf@email.wcu.edu
Phone: 828-227-3416
Office: 125 Hunter Library
BOOKS/MEDIA | E-BOOKS | ARTICLES
This research guide serves as a starting point for criminal justice research. Find Books/Media directs you to Hunter Library’s catalog where you can search for books & videos.
Not on the Cullowhee Campus?
If you do not have a class that meets physically on the Cullowhee campus and you do not live in Jackson County, you can use Interlibrary Loan to have books, articles, and other materials that you cannot find full-text online sent to you electronically or physically.
Online Criminal Justice Books
Use NetLibrary to read books online that have been purchased for your degree program.
Use the following subject-specific databases to search for scholarly articles (abstracts and full-text) from electronic journals.
Business Source Premier (1965-Present)
This database provides full-text articles from more than 1,100 scholarly business journals. It contains citations to over 300 business continuity articles, many with full-text. Covers areas where criminal justice issues interface with business issues.
SocINDEX with Full-Text (1895-present)
A major research database for Sociology indexes over 3,300 journal titles. Has full-text for 242 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895 and 72 "priority" coverage journals, also includes full-text for 547 books and 6,711 conference papers.
Criminal Justice Periodical Index (indexing 1981-present; full-text from 1988-present)
An index to over 100 U.S., British, and Canadian journals in criminal justice and related disciplines.
NCJRS: National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Covers federal government research, policy and program development, information on corrections, law enforcement and victims of crime, statistics and more, many full-text.
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center, indexing 1966-present)
This index to educational literature contains citations and some full-text articles on drug education and preventing bullying in schools.
Military & Government Collection (indexing 1984-present, full-text from 1989-present)
Provides full-text for 3000 journals covering branches of the military and the government agencies. Main strength is current news coverage of federal agencies plus presidential and congressional action. Good coverage on topics such as drug traffic.
CINAHL with Full-text (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, 1982-present)
Quality resource for nursing professionals, students, and researchers. It provides indexing and abstracting for over 1,600 current nursing and allied health journals and publications. Covers CJ related topics such as drugs and HIV protection.
PubMed (mid-1960s-present)
Provides access to bibliographic information in the MEDLINE database as well as additional life science journals. Rich source for information on medical conditions resulting from drugs.
LexisNexis Academic
A multidisciplinary full-text database. Best database for legal research; allows you to get a case, find a state law, and find a law review.
PsycInfo (1887-present)
Quality index to the literature of psychology including journals, book chapters, and more; provides abstracts, but no full-text. Use to locate for research on the psychological aspects of prison management and stress factors for police.
Applied Science & Technology Abstracts (1983-present)
Index to 600+ international and English-language periodicals, covering engineering, mathematics, physics, and computer technology. Also contains articles on technical applications to forensics and fingerprint analysis.
The following interdisciplinary databases also provide access to scholarly articles in criminal justice.
Academic Search Premier (1980-present, with a scattering of pre-1980)
A multi-disciplinary index including some general and criminal justice related journals; many are full-text. For example, there are over 200 articles on road rage.
MasterFILE Premier (1975-present)
Has full-text information for nearly 1,950 general reference publications. Covers multiple areas of interest related to criminal justice including topics discussed in popular magazines such as serial killers. Great source for full-text articles.