University of Southern Maine

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Citation Styles

For further research assistance, please contact Pat Prieto (pprieto@usm.maine.edu; 780-5662) Criminology Liaison, Glickman Library, University of Southern Maine.
Chat and e-mail research assistance and an appointment request form are also available through our Ask a Librarian service.

In order to find books, journals, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System you will need to consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use an index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

If you do not know the exact subject heading describing the topic you need, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic and then click on the subject heading links found within the relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

If the material you need is not available at the USM Libraries or online, the Libraries can usually obtain it for you. Books should be ordered through URSUS or Maine InfoNet if possible; for journal articles and for books unavailable through URSUS or Maine InfoNet, use Interlibrary Loan.

If you are a distance education student of the University of Maine System and need information about Off-Campus Library Services, visit the Off-Campus Library Services web site.

Subject Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of crime and justice
Por Reference HV6017 .E52 2002

Encyclopedia of criminology and deviant behavior 
Por Reference HV6017 .E53 2001

Statistical Sources

Crime and Justice Databook (Maine)
Online: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/justiceresearch/DataBook2004.htm

Crime in Maine (Uniform Crime Reports)
Online: http://www.maine.gov/dps/cim/crime_in_maine/cim.htm

Maine Crime Victimization Report
Online: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/justiceresearch/reports/MCVS_FULL_REPORT.pdf

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
Por Reference HV6787.S72
Online: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/

Uniform crime reports for the United States
Por Reference HV 6787 .A3
Online: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Atlas of Crime: Mapping the Criminal Landscape
Por Reference HV6783.A85 2000
A unique collection of maps and essays which view crime in terms of space and time.

Guides to Further Research

Criminal Justice Information: How To Find It, How To Use It
Por Reference HV7419.5.C75 1998

Criminal Justice Research In Libraries and on the Internet
Por Reference HV7419.5.N45 1997

Criminal Justice Abstracts
Criminal justice policies, theories, programs and administration.  Primarily a domestic focus but has numerous international topics too.

NCJRS Document Data Base
Abstracts and full text of criminal justice books, journal articles, and reports published by the U.S. Department of Justice, other local, state, and federal government agencies, international organizations, and the private sector.

Academic Search Premier
A multi-subject index that provides full text for nearly 4,000 scholarly publications of which 3,100 are peer reviewed. Academic areas of study include: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.

ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts
ASSIA is an indexing and abstracting tool covering health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, race relations and education. Updated monthly. Dates of Coverage: 1987 - current.

Women's Studies International
Indexes journal articles, books, book chapters, and dissertations in women's studies, including material from the fields of economics, education, public policy, and sociology. Coverage from 1972 to the present.

LegalTrac
An index to law journals, available only at the Law School Library (go to the 3rd floor of the Law School building for reference assistance)

Sociological Abstracts
The primary index for sociology and related disciplines including criminology, education, gerontology, mental health, minority studies, public health, social psychology, social work, urban studies, welfare programs, and women's studies. Comprehensive and international in scope. Covers about 2,600 journals in 30 different languages from 55 different countries. Also includes books, conference papers,and doctoral dissertations.

PsycINFO
The primary index to the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines. Coverage includes references and abstracts to over 1,300 journals in more than 20 languages, and to book chapters and books in the English language.

HeinOnline
A searchable collection of full text articles from nearly 370 academic legal periodicals.

Social Work Abstracts Plus
An index to the social work literature, with good coverage of topics such as child abuse and domestic violence.

ERIC
The primary education index. Use it for topics such as school violence.

IngentaConnect
A multi-subject index

ProQuest Newspapers
Indexes articles from the last 5-15 years (dates vary) of many important U.S. newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal/Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Full text is available for most titles.

These indexes and databases help you identify journal articles and other publications. Once you have found your citations, consult Finding Articles at USM for detailed instructions on locating full text articles online and in print journals.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
One of the best places for a variety of criminal justice statistics. 

Criminal Justice Links at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University.

Maine Statistical Analysis Center
Links to multiple reports on corrections, gun crime, juvenile offenders, and more.

Accurate, properly formatted footnotes and bibliographies are indicators of good academic research, and the ethical/legal use of information. The Criminology Style Guide for Writing Papers is based on APA documentation style. For more on citing using APA documentation, the following resources are also available:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
(POR Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001)
(GOR Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001)

A Writer's Reference
(GOR Reference PE1408 .H2778 2003)
(POR Reference PE1408 .H2778 2003)
(LEW Reference PE1408 .H2778 2003)
Includes sections on composing and revising, design, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, writing, and documentation.

Online! A Reference Guide Using Internet Resources

Endnote
USM has a site license for Endnote, a personal reference database program. The main functions of this program include maintenance of a database of references, downloading references from other databases, using the database to link to references in word-processed documents, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the Introduction to Endnote for further information.

Created by: Pat Prieto
Created on: 05.10.2005
Last Updated: 12.31.2007