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Criminology and Criminal Justice

Articles and Databases

Search the following databases to find relevant journal and magazine articles, reports, and dissertations. Find more databases at the Databases A-Z list

Newspaper Articles

Find Full-Text

If the full-text of an article is not available, click on Full Text Finder to check options for finding the full-text, including requesting the article via Interlibrary Loan. Alternatively, you check if USF owns the journal by searching the Journal Finder by journal name. Learn how to use Full Text Finder in this short video tutorial.
 

Find Articles Not at USF

If the library doesn't have access to the journal article you want, you can still get it through Interlibrary Loan. Use Illiad to request your items online. You may receive your item in anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. Be sure to start your research early!

Database Search Tips

  • Use Boolean operators connect your search words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results. The two basic boolean operators are: AND and OR.
    • AND tells the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records. 
      Example: prisoners AND family
    • OR increases your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records. 
      Example: ex-convicts OR ex-offenders 
  • Use database “limit” options as needed. Most databases offer these options to limit your results:
    • to scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals
    • by source type (magazines, newspapers, academic journals)
    • by language (e.g., English)
  • Broaden a search by using a truncation symbol with a search term. Most databases use the (*) symbol. For example, prison* retrieves prison, prisons, prisoner, prisoners. 
  • Use quotes around search words to force exact phrase searching. Example: "stand your ground"

This guide was first curated with care by Sherise Kimura, and is currently maintained by Nicky Andrews.

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