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Administration of Justice

Source Types

Description

  • Background sources (also known as reference sources) are tertiary and contain information we "refer" to, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. These are good sources to use to get started - when you need ideas for how to narrow your topic, or could use more words to describe your needs (such as when thinking of keywords to put into a search box.)

What do they contain?

  • Entries (though sometimes articles & videos!)

How often are these sources published?

  • Once, annually, or every few years

Found in:

Alternative places to look:

Description

  • Books are full length sources that can be on a topic by one or more authors, or anthologies, which contain several chapters/sections written by different authors that are often compiled by an editor.

What do they contain?

  • Chapters, sections, essays

How often are these sources published?

  • Once, annually, or every few years

Found in:

Description

  • Magazines, journals, and newspapers, are types of "periodicals" - as in, they are published periodically throughout the year. There are many different intended audiences.

What do they contain?

  • Articles

How often are these sources published?

  • Magazines - usually monthly & quarterly (seasonally)
  • Journals - less frequently; can be monthly, but more likely quarterly
  • Newspapers - usually daily

Found in:

Description

  • Media sources come in a variety of audio and visual formats. Some of these can be helpful for research - like podcasts, documentaries, and web clips.

What are some examples?

  • Audio - such as CDs, MP3s, podcasts, and material on streaming websites
  • Video - such as DVDs, MP4s, YouTube videos, and material on streaming services (like Films on Demand and Netflix)

How often are these sources published?

  • Continuously

Found in:

Description

  • Statistics are the result from raw data that have been interpreted and analyzed. They are often helpful when you're looking for a number or percentage to support an argument in your assignments, research papers, or presentations. A statistic will answer "how much" or "how many." Statistics are usually presented in a table, chart, or other visualization.

What do they contain?

  • Usually an average, a percentage, or a frequency as a result of data analysis
    • Examples:
      • The average unemployment rate in the United States in March 2022
      • The percentage of car accidents that occur during a snowstorm
      • The frequency of accidents involving teenage drivers

How often are these sources published?

  • Current statistics might be a year or older and not necessarily published on an annual basis and are based on how often the information is collected + the time it takes to analyze and process numbers.

Found in:

  • Websites for
    • government agencies (e.g. U.S. Census Bureau),
    • private organizations or non-profits (e.g. The American Cancer Society),
    • academic institutions, or
    • the private sector (for example, marketing firms, pollsters, or trade organizations).
  • Articles in journals, newspapers, and magazines.

Note: government statistics are free and publicly available, however, many other kinds of statistics require access through library subscription databases.

Library Databases

The databases below are a good starting point to find articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals. Looking for statistics embedded within these articles can be helpful. Search a keyword or two for your topic. For example, "obesity." Then combine your keyword search with a subject search ("SU Subject Term" ) for statistics.

Description

  • Websites are online spaces that host a multitude of content. The collection of content for a website is within the same domain. (In the example below, sfdph.gov is the domain).
    • Examples:

What do they contain?

How often are these sources published?

  • Continuously

Found on:

  • The "open web." Search engines "crawl" and "index" items found in the open web, such as webpages, blog posts, infographics, PDFs, and other material that people post to the web. The open web contains materials not behind a paywall (such as when an online journal website asks for payment to show you an article). Databases are technically behind a paywall, because they contain material that is accessed after the library pays a subscription fee.

Books of Interest - Administration of Justice

Book Cover

The Fingerprint Sourcebook

Individuals representing the fingerprint, academic, and scientific communities create a sourcebook for friction ridge examiners, that is, a single source of researched information regarding the subject. This sourcebook would provide educational, training, and research information for the international scientific community.

The Discourse of Police Interviews

Analyzes how police interviews are constructed and used to investigate and prosecute crimes. Focuses on the discourses of police interviewing, Examines leading debates, approaches, and topics in contemporary police interview research. Among other topics, the book explores the sociolegal, psychological, and discursive framework of popular police interview techniques.

Making Sergeant

Contains practical advice for deciding on whether you are ready for the job and getting it and succeeding at it if you are. Will help the already-promoted supervisor successfully meet the challenges of this complex but vital position.

Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court

How the attorney-client relationship favors the privileged in criminal court--and denies justice to the poor and to working-class people of color. Draws needed attention to the injustices that are perpetuated by the attorney-client relationship in today's criminal courts, and describes the reforms needed to correct them.

Blood, Powder, and Residue

Tells the stories of the forensic scientists who struggle to deliver unbiased science while under intense pressure from adversarial lawyers, escalating standards of evidence, and critical public scrutiny. Brings to life the daily challenges these scientists face, from the painstaking screening and testing of evidence to making communal decisions about writing up the lab report, all while worrying about attorneys asking them uninformed questions in court.

book cover

Understanding Police Interrogation

Sheds light on the range of factors that may influence the outcome of the interrogation of a suspect, which ones make it more likely that a person will confess, and which may also inadvertently lead to false confessions.

Book Cover

Twentieth-Century Influences on Twenty-First-Century Policing

Explores their implications for the relationship between society and the police, and suggests that a knowledge of these changes is imperative to understanding trends in contemporary policing as well as the direction policing needs to take.

Book Cover

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States

Examines research and analysis of the dramatic rise of incarceration rates and its affects, and recommends changes in sentencing policy, prison policy, and social policy to reduce the nation's reliance on incarceration. The report also identifies important research questions that must be answered to provide a firmer basis for policy. The study assesses the evidence and its implications for public policy to inform an extensive and thoughtful public debate about and reconsideration of policies.

Book Cover

Independence Corrupted

Exposes the financial, political, personal, and professional pressures that threaten judicial ethics and independence. Calls for reforms to protect judicial independence and for vigilance to ensure justice for all.

Book cover

Practical Digital Forensics

This book will get you started with digital forensics and then follow on to preparing an investigation plan and preparing a toolkit for investigation. Explore new and promising forensic processes and tools based on 'disruptive technology' that offer experienced and budding practitioners the means to regain control of their caseloads. Has a range of case studies and simulations will allow you to apply the knowledge of the theory gained to real-life situations.

Websites


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