Books in Electronic and Print Format
Books are the best way to gather background, gain a general understanding of your topic, and then explore subjects in-depth.
To find books in FLITE, try either Subject or Keyword searches in the Online Catalog. Remember that circulating FLITE books will be mailed to you free of charge. Your only cost is the return postage via UPS. See our section on Document Delivery/InterLibrary Loan.
Requests can be made electronically through the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Request form. You'll need to register as a First Time User when sending your first InterLibrary Loan request.
Electronic Reference Materials (Reference Books in digital format) can be reached at the Electronic Reference Resources link on the Databases page. Select the Criminal Justice subject heading.
Electronic books (Ebooks) can be found by starting with a Keyword Search. Use the Material Type drop down menu on the page to select "EBOOKS".
You may also search for them from a results page by selecting the "LIMIT THIS SEARCH" tab on the top of the page.
Limit the search again to EBOOKS.
Authoritative Internet resources may also be accessed through our Online Catalog. Search for them using either the Keyword search or the Limit button and restrict your search to "ELECTRONIC" resources.
Once you reach the catalog record, click on either the Internet address provided or the words "Connect to online version" to reach the web site.
Using Electronic Books from FLITE - Ebrary
NetLibrary is another electronic books provider here at FLITE. You can use these electronic books almost as you would with Ebrary, but first you will need to set up your user name and password at an academic or public library computer. See the instructions on the NetLibrary page.
Research Guide: Criminal Justice
A web-based Subject Reference Guide for Criminal Justice is available to help you research. To find print reference sources that are useful for Criminal Justice, use this Research Guide. You may be able to find these resources at your local library if you are off-campus.
Finding Journal Articles
To find journal articles on a particular topic, it's necessary to use one or more of the Databases available on the FLITE Web site. These databases cumulatively provide indexing to thousands of journal titles. Many databases provide full-text (content of the articles is found directly within the database), but some provide only citations (descriptions of where the article originally appeared in print) or abstracts (citations with a summary attached.)
General Databases
Academic OneFile
A very large full-text database with millions of articles covering a multitude of subjects, Academic OneFile indexes journals, magazines, and newspapers. A variety of Criminal Justice journals are included in Academic OneFile, in addition to other journals that touch on issues affecting your field. Use this database as you explore different topics and begin to narrow your focus. A general database like this one is also useful if you are unfamiliar with database searching, as you are apt to receive a broader selection of material as you begin to research. You can refine your searches by using more selective databases once you've focused your topic.
Wilson Select Plus
This completely full-text database includes articles from a wide range of subject fields including science, humanities, education and business. Coverage is from 1994 to the present. Again, use this general database as you begin work with your topic
Criminal Justice Databases
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Use NCJRS (available for free online) to search more than 7,000 full-text reports on a wide variety of topics, most written by the U. S. Department of Justice, by selecting the "Publications/Products" tab. You can also find abstracts for more than 180,000 Federal, state, and local government reports; books; journal articles; and unpublished research by using the "Library/Abstracts" tab. You can look for those abstracts in the other databases.Criminal Justice Periodicals Index
This database provides selective full-text coverage to journals in the fields of law enforcement, corrections administration, social work, drug rehabilitation, criminal and family law, industrial security, and other criminal justice fields. Citations extend back to 1981.
Sage Criminology Full-Text and Criminal Justice Abstracts
Sage Criminology shares a search interface with Criminal Justice abstracts, but allows you to retrieve all articles in full-text. This database has very deep backfiles, so you research your topic over a longer time span, providing you with a broader scope.
With citations dating back to 1968, Criminal Justice Abstracts is prepared in cooperation with the Criminal Justice Collection of Rutgers University Library. Indexing journal articles, books, and government reports, Criminal Justice Abstracts covers such topics as crime trends, crime prevention and deterrence, juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, police courts, and sentencing.
Off Campus Access
FLITE Distance Education Library Services
One of our missions at FLITE is to offer all off-campus students access to the high-quality research materials available through the library. FLITE's subscription databases are available to all current Ferris students, faculty, and staff, including off-campus students. Our newly-designed Distance Education web site should help you with any questions you may have about reaching FLITE from wherever you are. Be sure to study it carefully and return to it often. If you experience problems logging on, please call (231) 591-2669 or (800) 4-FERRIS
(ext. 2669).
Getting the Article
Once you've found citations relevant to the topic you're working with and you need to get a copy of the articles, you'll need to verify whether FLITE owns the particular journal in which each article was published. Many databases now have a link called "Find It", which gives you the range of options available to find the material. If the full text of the article is available, you will be able to find the article by clicking 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 you are off-campus and can't come to FLITE, simply order the article through Interlibrary Loan.
Interlibrary Loan
If the only message you see is "Request document via
Interlibrary Loan", you will need to order the article.
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. When the book or article arrives, you will be notified by email to check your account. Expect articles in about 5-10 business days (ferris email preferred), and look for a digital copy of your article in your ILLiad account. Books will be mailed to you if you are an off-campus student. On-campus students may pick up books at the Checkout Desk.
To look up whether FLITE owns a particular journal, use the Find a Periodical database to search for the journal title. Remember to use the journal title not the article title for your search.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another's work or ideas
as your own. Plagiarism is often unintentional, but it occurs whenever you use someone else's ideas
or words without giving them credit. It can be obvious - purchasing a term paper or turning
in a project done by someone else. It can be putting other's ideas into your own words. It can be cutting and pasting text from a web site. A simple rule:
Do not copy text from Web pages or other sources without identifying and giving credit to the original author.
Here are some ways to avoid plagiarism, taken from PILOT, the FLITE Information Literacy Online Tutorial.
To avoid Plagiarism:
For more information about Plagiarism, please explore the Plagiarism and Citations guide developed by FLITE.
Citing Sources
Whenever you are quoting or using information from a source, you must credit or cite that source. Failure to do so is plagiarism which can lead to expulsion from the University.
To learn more about citations, check out this FLITE Citations page.
The following links provide information on how to use APA.
Citation Style Guide: APA (PDF)
An online version of the APA handout given out in class, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
APA List of References
More examples of how cite different types of sources using the APA format.
APA Style Guide to Electronic References
Recently updated APA guide to citing electronic media and URLs.
Most academic libraries maintain a copy of the full-length APA manual (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.) in their Ready Reference section. If you cannot find a copy and have not found the answer to your question in any of the other APA resources, contact the FLITE Oval Information Desk, 231-591-3602, or chat with a librarian there.
If you are interested in checking your citations, you may want to use the KnightCite tool from Calvin College.
Citation Machine is a fairly simple-to-use citation and bibliography tool that is available for free online.
RefWorks is a comprehensive citation management system which will import your citations from many of the FLITE databases you use, store them for you, and then create bibliographies in whatever format you require. A
RefWorks Tutorial is available to teach you more about this helpful tool. You can also reach the Tutorial from both the Instruction or Reference page of the FLITE website.
If you have any questions about what we went over during the library visit, Email Kristy Motz.
Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help at any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.
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Last Update: February 24, 2008