Library Spaces: Information about places in the library for individuals or groups to study or prepare for presentations
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
These specialized books provide background information on topics and help with unfamiliar words.
Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia articles may refer you to other useful sources.
Note the names of authors mentioned in the essays, then search the databases to look for journal articles they may have written.
Dictionary of Legal Terms: A Simplified Guide to the Language of Law
--Brief definitions for legal terms including acronyms
--Published in 1998Black's Law Dictionary
Bryan A. Garner, editor-in-chief
Location: ref KF156 .B53 2004
Sage Dictionary of Criminology
Eugene McLaughlin and John Muncie, compilers
Location: ref HV6017 .S240 2006
Dictionary of Criminal Justice
George E. Rush
Location: HV7411 .R87 2003 (Tower 6)
A Dictionary of Law Enforcement
Graham Gooch and Michael Williams, ed., 2007
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice
Joshua Dressler, editor-in-chief
Also in print. Location: ref HV6017 .E52 2002
West's Encyclopedia of American Law
--Thousands of current entries on legal topics, biographies, controversial issues, and more
--Excellent for background information
--Most articles have a list of further readings
--Published in 2005Oxford Companion to American Law
--Published in 2002
Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment
David Levinson, editor
Location: ref HV6017 .E524 2002
Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
Larry Sullivan, editor
Location: ref HV7921 .E53 2005
Finding Articles Using Databases
Databases are subject guides to magazines, journals, newspapers, and other materials. For more choices than those listed below, go to The University Libraries home page, click on Databases, then on the starting letter of the database or department name.
Tips:
-When searching your topic try a variety of subject headings for the same concept e.g. teenagers, adolescents, youth, juveniles
-Click here for tips on using the search connectors AND, OR, and NOT in your search strategy.REMEMBER: To get to the full text of the journal article you must go through the Library's web pages. We have paid for access to the journals. You cannot go to the publisher's page or out on the Internet to get an article. Use Journal Finder if you have the name of the journal.
SocIndex with Full Text (SIFT) (EBSCO)
Locating the articles by Shaila Dewan and Solomon Moore:
--Click on "News" in the upper left of the screen.
--In the "Sources" box change "US Newspapers and Wires" to "The New York Times"
--Enter the date of the article in the "Specify Date" box
--Enter the author's name in the"Search terms" box."
How to use this database to find newspaper articles on North Carolina
topics:
Click on "News" in the upper left corner of the page
For Select Sources choose "U.S Newspapers and Wires"
Specify Date: note the default is just three months. Consider using two or five years until you get enough information
Click on "Terms and Connectors" if not already bulleted
In the "Search terms" boxes enter your keywords for a topic like wrongful convictions in North Carolina
--Box 1 wrongful conviction! (note the ! will search for conviction or convictions)
--Box 2 North CarolinaClick on
to display the resulting citations
To see where your search terms are mentioned in the article, change Show List to Show Expanded List
For full text, click on the article title
To print, email, download, or export your results, click on the icons in the upper right of the screen
- Found too many items or not specific enough? On the "News" home page, change "Anywhere in the document" to "In Headline & Lead Paragraphs" or add a person's name or another subject term in the third search box
How to use this database to find the full text of law review articles (not specific court cases):
From the Lexis Nexis home page click on "Legal" (upper left of the page)
"Law Reviews" should already be highlighted
- Click on the bullet for "Natural Language"
Enter your search topic e.g. wrongful murder convictions in North Carolina.
Click on
To see where your search terms are mentioned in the article change Show List to Show Expanded List
To see only articles from a specific journal click on "Law Reviews and Journals" in the left column, then click on the name of the journal
To see the full text of an article, click on the title of that article
To print, email, download, or export your results, click on the icons in the upper right of the screen
How to find the complete text of specific court cases:
From the Lexis Nexis home page click on "Legal" (upper left of the page)
Click on "Federal and State Cases" on the left column
- Click on the bullet for Natural Language
- Enter your search e.g. wrongful convictions for murder in North Carolina.
- Click on
- To see where your search terms are mentioned in the text of the court cases, change Show List to Show Expanded List
- Click on the case name to see the full opinion of the court
Note the icons on the upper right of the page for printing, emailing, downloading, or exporting the results.
- Options for finding one particular court case or only NC court cases:
- Go to the "Federal and State Cases" home page, enter the plaintiff and defendant names in the "Case Name" boxes
- NC cases: in the "Sources" box change "Federal & State Cases, Combined" to "NC Federal & State Cases Combined"
Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCO)
Raleigh News & Observer
Charlotte Observer
Looking for the full text of the article? Go to Journal Finder and enter the name of the journal.
Websites for Class
American Sociological Association Style Guide
Tip sheet posted by California State University. Los Angeles. This website shows how to cite electronic resources.American Sociological Association.
Quick style guide for students.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centurion Ministries.
Click on Cases or Resources.Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice
Wrongfully convicted himself, Darryl Hunt and his organization seek to provide assistance to individuals who also have been wrongfully convicted.
Illinois Criminal Justice Infor. Authority. Research & Analysis Unit. 2002.
"The Needs of the Wrongfully Convicted: A Report on a Panel Discussion." Report to the Governor's Commission on Capital Punishment.Jeralyn. "Death of Lying Chemist Fred Zain."
Posted December 8, 2002 to Talk Left: The Politics of Crime.Rosen, Richard D.
"When Experts Lie."Weinberg, Steve.
"Anatomy of Misconduct." The Center for Public Integrity, Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest.Weinberg, Steve.
"Breaking the Rules." The Center for Public Integrity, Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criminal Cases Review Commission (Great Britain)
Death Penalty Information Center
Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama
Gary Wells' website (a resource for those interested in eyewitness memory issues)
Innocence Project at Cardozo Law School
Justice Denied: The Magazine for the Wrongly Convicted
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence
(Northwestern University School of Law) Center on Wrongful Convictions
Resurrection After Exoneration
Southern Center for Human Rights
