CRIJ 1306 @ NLC Library

HANDOUTS

• Library Essentials -
• Using Online Databases -
• Developing a Search Strategy -  
• Evaluating Websites -  

• Government Documents - 

   

  ACTIVITY - Start your research today!

  CRIJ 1306 Activity.pdf 

   

  Scholarly vs. Popular Articles

   

  Want books? Use:

  ALAMO LIBRARY ONLINE CATALOG 

   

  Some relevant books:

  Our changing constitution: how and why we have amended it 

  Explicit and authentic acts: amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995

  Judicial process in America

  Criminal courts: structure, process, and issues 

  The judicial branch of state government: people, process, and politics

   

  Want articles? Use:

  ELECTRONIC DATABASES

     Databases by Subject - Political Science

  • Legal Collection
  • InfoTrac Criminal Justice
  • THOMAS (Library of Congress legislative information) 

   

  INTERNET SITES

       Hotlinks - Social & Behavioral Sciences (see Criminal Justice section) 

       Usa.gov - Federal Judicial Branch

      GPO Access - Judicial Branch Resources

      Supreme Court of the United States

      United States Courts

      The Federal Court System in the United States - PDF 

   

  SEARCH STRATEGIES

  • Boolean - AND, OR, NOT
  • Field searching - Subject, Author, Title
  • Quotation marks for exact phrase
  • Truncation - root + variants (*) 
  • Database Limiters: date, publication type, type, peer-reviewed, etc.

   

  OPTIONS FOR FULL-TEXT - Where is the actual article???

  •  PDF or HTML in database
  • A to Z Online Journal Locator
  • IDB & ILL

   

  NEED HELP? Contact Us!

  Call: (210) 486-5388

  Email: nlc-reference@alamo.edu

   

  Library Instructor: Sarah Garrett