Objective: Using Library Resources in Preparing a Research Proposal

I. Clearly define your research problem

Use Reference Resources to clearly define your research problem and gather background information. Selected resources in the WSU library are listed below.  Look on the shelves near these books; there may be similar books nearby with helpful information.

• Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 6017 .E53 2000
• Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 8073 .E53 2000
• Encyclopedia of Crime & Justice
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HM 6017 .E52 2002
• Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 5804 .E53 2000
• The Oxford Handbook of Criminology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HV 6025 .O87 2002
• The Concise Dictionary of Crime and Justice
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 6017 .D38 2002
• Encyclopedia of Police Science
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 7901 .E53 1995
• Encyclopedia of Sociology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HM 425 .E5 2000
• Encyclopedia of Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E522 2000

II. Select your search terms

• State your research topic as a thesis statement or a question:
  drug use among adolescents
• Identify the separate concepts (independent and dependent variables, population, etc.) that make up your topic:
  drug use; adolescents
• Make a list of search terms for each concept.  Be sure to include synonyms, related terms, and terms that may be broader or narrower:
  drug use: drug abuse, illegal drugs, addiction, marijuana, cocaine
  adolescents: teens, teenagers, youth, high school students
  The Contempory Thesaurus of Search Terms and Synonyms - ask at Reference Desk
• Use the following thesauri to identify appropriate controlled vocabulary (official subject headings) for each concept:
  Thesaurus of Sociological Indexing Terms - Ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms - Ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors [Education] - Ask at Reference Desk
  Library of Congress Subject Headings - Ask at Reference Desk

III. Devise your search strategy

Based on your list(s) of search terms, devise your search strategy:

• use boolean operator OR ; this tells the computer to search for all the terms at the same time:
  drug use or drug abuse; adolescents or teenagers
• use boolean operator AND ; this tells the computer to restrict retrieval to both concepts:
  drug use and adolescents
• use truncation (*) to broaden your search to include variants of a term:
  adolescen*: adolescent, adolescents, adolescence
• use parentheses to group terms combined using OR :
  (drug use or drug abuse or illegal drugs) and (adolescen* or teen* or youth*)

IV. Conduct a literature search

Finding Books

To find books on you policy, search one or more of the following library catalogs :

• WSU Stewart Library Online Catalog (iPac) - catalog for WSU's library
• Utah Library Catalogs - links to catalogs for other libraries in Utah
• WorldCat - combined catalog of libraries from around the world

Be sure to check the shelves near any books you find; there may be other books with similar information nearby.

You can also find books on Criminal Justice and related fields by browsing the shelves in the Top Level of the library in the General Collection under the following call numbers:  HV [Social Work. Criminal Justice], HM [Sociology], KF [Law], RA [Forensic Medicine], and BF [Psychology].

When you find a good book, check the bibliography to identify other books and articles on your subject.

If we do not own a particular book that you need, we will borrow it for you from another library through ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system).

Finding Articles

An article database is a searchable database of references to magazine and journal articles. Some article databases also include the full-text of the article. Unfortunately, the major databases for Criminal Justice do not include the full-text.

To find scholarly journal articles in Criminal Justice, a great place to start is Criminal Justice Abstracts. Other useful article databases for Criminal Justice are Criminal Justice Periodicals, Social Work Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and PsycINFO. Of these, only Criminal Justice Periodicals and PsycINFO include full-text, but only for selected articles.

Another good article database to use is Academic Search Premier. It contains thousands of full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and scholarly journals, including many in social work, sociology, psychology, and related disciplines. To limit your search to scholary journal articles in Academic Search Premier, click on the box next to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals . You may also limit your search to articles available in full-text on the computer by clicking on the box next to Full Text.

To find newspaper articles and other general information on Criminal Justice, try Lexis-Nexis Academic, ProQuest Newspapers, or Newspaper Source. These databases provide full-text for hundreds of national, regional and local newspapers.

If the article is available in full-text in the article database you are using, download and/or print the article.

If the article is not available in full-text in the article database you are using, check the library's EJournals list to see if full-text for the journal containing the article is available in another article database. This list will also tell you if we subscribe to the journal in print format.

If the article is only available in print, do a Journal Alphabetical search in our Online Catalog to identify the call number for the print journal. Recent issues of print journals are shelved by call number in the Current Periodicals area on the Middle Level of the library at the south end. Earlier issues are shelved by call number in bound volumes on the Top Level of the library.

If the article is not available either online or in print, use ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system) to request a copy of the article from another library. This usually takes 2 to 4 days.

Finding Internet Resources

To find Internet resources, an excellent place to begin is the Stewart Library's list of web resources in Criminal Justice.  Most of the sites listed will provide links to additional sites, so explore!  Sociological Abstracts will often retrieve links to selected web sites as well as journal articles.  Use Internet search engines to find additional information.

V. Verify that your articles are scholarly

Use the following criteria to determine if an article represents scholarly research:

• Does it include a Methods section that describes such things as the independent and dependent variables; the population studied; and the methods used?
• Does it include a Literature Review that discussed previous research on the topic?
• Does it include a Results section that provides detailed information on the results of the research, including tables, charts, etc.?
• Does it include a Discussion section that discusses the results of the research?
• Does it include an extensive Bibliography or list of References Cited ?

You can also use the general criteria found on the library's Scholarly vs. Popular Articles guide to determine if the article is indeed scholarly. You should also verify this with your instructor.

Need Help?

• Visit the Reference Desk or call  626-6415 and speak to a reference librarian
• Online reference help via email:  Ask-A-Librarian Service