Contact
	Kristen Motz
	Email
	Phone: 231-591-3625
	Office: FLITE 140H
	Stacy Anderson
	Email
	Phone: 231-591-3635
	Office: FLITE 140C

Graduate Students in Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Materials at FLITE

Off Campus Access

FLITE Distance Education Library Services

Every person in this class will be off-campus at some time during your coursework. Our Distance Education web site should help you with any questions you may have about reaching FLITE from wherever you are. Be sure to use it whenever you have questions about using FLITE from anywhere off-campus.

Starting Your Research

If you have questions about finding and researching a topic, use this FLITE tutorial:

Getting Started With Your Research

Remember, avoid plagiarism by properly citing your sources. Please go to the Citations web page to learn how.

Criminal Justice Research Guide

Our Criminal Justice Research Guide can help you select the right resources to use.

Using Criminal Justice Journals

Journals provide an excellent way to access scholarly research-worthy information in your field. You can access journals in two different ways:

• Look for a particular journal title and read the articles within it.
• Use a journal database, which will return articles from many different journals on a single topic.

You may be using both methods while you learn more about your field.

Find Journals

Use "Find Journals" to go to the specific journals themselves. You are most likely to use this option when you have a definite article you are looking for in one specific journal.

These journals may be available in the library in physical format: print for current issues and bound volumes, microfilm, or microfiche for older copies. We will scan these articles and email them to you if you are off-campus. Use InterLibrary Loan.

You may also be able to access the journal directly online. To look up whether FLITE owns a particular journal, use the Journals tab from the Library Catalog, or select Find-Journals from the drop-down menu to reach Find a Periodical to search for the journal title.

Remember to use the journal title, not an article title for your search. If you use this method, you may want to go to the journal's web site presence (if it has one) and read the "About Us" or "FAQ" information about the journal online to see if it will suit your needs. Remember from our discussion, most likely you will not be able to read the full-text of the article on the free Web. That's where you need to use Find a Periodical.

Finding Journal Articles for Research

Use "Find Articles" to find journal articles on a particular topic. You will reach one or more of the Databases available through the FLITE web site. These databases index thousands of journal titles. Some provide full-text, but others only provide citations or abstracts.

Some of the databases we recommend you try include:

General Databases
Academic OneFile
If you haven't used a database in the past, Academic OneFile is a good starting point for any subject. 

Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice Periodicals Index
Criminology (Sage Full-Text)
Criminal Justice Abstracts
National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Getting the Full-text of the Research Article

Once you've found citations for your topic, you may need to search for the article in full-text. Many databases now have a link called "Find It", which may link you to full-text in another database. Click on the link.

Sometimes the Find It button will provide a link to the Online Catalog. This indicates that the journal is found in FLITE's print collection.

If the only message you see is "Interlibrary Loan", you will need to order the article. By clicking on the red GO button provided, you will be directed to the ILLiad Logon screen. You will need to register the first time you reach the screen, by clicking on the words "First Time Users". Sometimes the red GO button will provide a link to the Online Catalog. This indicates that the journal is found in FLITE's print collection.

Interlibrary Loan and MeLCat

Interlibrary Loan is a service provided by FLITE to request articles and books that FLITE does not own. Most often this service is used when searching for articles in FLITE databases, and you are directed through the "Find It" button to request the item. The first time you use this service, you will need to register with ILLiad, our Inter-Library Loan service. Click on the words "First Time Users" to register. You will complete a form, creating a username and password which will be used for future requests. Article requests are emailed to you in 5-10 business days (ferris email preferred), and books will be mailed to you if you are an off-campus student. On-campus students may pick up books at the Checkout Desk.

MeLCat is another library service throughout Michigan which works with participating libraries to deliver books a particular library may not own. Click here for additional information about MeLCat.

Online Reference and e-Books

Reference books are a great way to gather background, explore topics, and gain a general understanding about a variety of topics. In addition to print reference material located on FLITE's First Floor, reference books in digital format can be using the Online Encyclopedias, Dictionaries etc. link. Credo Reference and Oxford Reference Online should give you broad overviews of your topic. You can also find excellent sources following the Criminal Justice link in the left column.

FLITE offers thousands of titles as online books or e-books/electronic books that can be accessed anywhere over the Internet. This Guide to Finding Online Books will help you access online books through the FLITE library catalog.

Plagiarism and Citations

Plagiarism is a term used frequently by professors and FLITE librarians, so you've probably heard it many times. But most students are unclear about all the ways plagiarism can occur in student work. If you would like more information about plagiarism in an entertaining format, take the following tutorial to learn more.

Plagiarism Tutorial - Dr. Cite Right (developed by Central Piedmont Community College Library)

Here are four suggestions to keep in mind as you work to avoid plagiarism in your papers and your presentations:

• Take accurate notes - write down where you found the ideas
• Record the complete citation information for each item
• Use quotation marks for direct quotes
• Credit the original author, give dates, and remember to cite ideas
• Use a tool like Creative Commons or Google Usage Rights to find images cleared for reuse and cite their URL in your slides.

Plagiarism is a serious problem in college research. It is crucial you learn how avoid it as you write your papers. Give credit to others where credit is due, and learn how to do it properly by using other tutorials from our Plagiarism guide.

FLITE Plagiarism Guide

Don't forget the FLITE Citation Guide to help you cite your papers properly.

Citation Style Guide: APA (PDF)
An online version of FLITE's APA Quick Reference handout, also requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

APA List of References
More examples of how cite different types of sources using the APA format.

Copies of the full-length APA manual (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.) are found in the Ready Reference section on FLITE First Floor near the Oval Information Desk or at the Desk itself. Reference Librarians can help you if you call (231-591-3602) or chat with them.

Resource Consultations and Library Help

If you would like to make an appointment for a one-on-one research consultation with a librarian, use this online form.

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Contact: Kristen Motz / Email / Phone: 231-591-3625 / Office: FLITE 140H

Contact: Stacy Anderson/ Email / Phone: 231-591-3635 / Office: FLITE 140C

Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.

Last update: April 8, 2010