Administration of Justice - LPC Library Research Guide

Reference Encyclopedias
Books and Audiovisuals
Periodicals and Electronic Print Resources
Internet Resources
Citation of Sources

Please ask a reference librarian for assistance at any time. We will be glad to help!

Reference Sources

Use reference sources for background information, broad overviews and summaries. The reference collection includes general and subject dictionaries and encyclopedias, biographies, directories, almanacs, atlases, etc. Many also contain bibliographies for further research. Reference books cannot be checked out from the library but may be photocopied.

Subject Specific:

There are many reference materials dealing with the various areas of study in administration of justice at the LPC library. Here are just a few examples of subject-specific materials that you will find of use.

Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice Ref HV6017.E52 2002 v. 1-4
Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment Ref HV6017.E524 2002 v. 1-4
Encyclopedia of Crime Scene Investigation Ref HV8073.N49 2008
Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement Ref. HV7921 E53 2005
Encyclopedia of Police Science Ref HV7901.E53 2007
Encyclopedia of Rape Ref HV6558.E53 2004
Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention Ref HV6250.3.U5 E55 2012
Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Ref. KF154 W47 2011
Great American Court Cases Ref KF385.A4.G68 1999 v. 1-4
Landmark Supreme Court Cases Ref KF8742.H37 2012

Books & Audiovisuals

Use the library catalog to find materials in the library. This will show you all the books and audiovisual materials both LPC Library and Chabot library own. You can search for a book or video by the author, title, subject, or keyword. A subject search allows you to find books about a topic or a person. In power search you may also LIMIT your search in many ways, for instance by type, "DVD" or type, "video" to find only DVDs or videos.

Examples of subject headings:

Administration of Justice OR Crime are broad terms to use in searching a catalog by subject. Examples of terms that may help you narrow your focus:

Community Policing
Crime Prevention
Criminal Procedure
Gangs
Law Enforcement
Police Administration
Prisons
Rape
Women, Crimes Against

Call numbers for administration of justice:

Most administration of justice books reside in the "H" and "KF" sections in the reference area and the stacks.

HV 5800 – Drug habits, drug abuse
HV 6000 – Criminology
HV 6250 – Victims of crimes
HV 7431 – Crime prevention
HV 8031 – Police duty
HV 8073 – Investigation
HV 8300 – Prisons/corrections
KF – Law
KFC – California law

Periodicals & Electronic Print Resources

Periodicals provide in-depth analyses of events and trends, research studies on particular subjects, and professional literature. When conducting research in both the social and physical sciences it is important to know the difference between "popular" periodical literature and more scholarly publications. A good guide to recognizing the differences between popular magazines and scholarly journals can be found at the the LPC site Scholarly Journals or Popular Magazines: What are the Differences? LPC Library Short Guide.

Las Positas College subscribes to several excellent online databases that you may want to use to find magazine, journal, and newspaper articles. These electronic databases can be accessed in the LPC Library or from home at the LPC Library Homepage.

Academic Search Complete

And other EBSCOhost databases contain thousands of citations and full-text articles on social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political and global issues from magazines, journals, and newspapers. Under Search Options you can also limit your search in order to retrieve materials from peer-reviewed journals or full-text articles. If you are looking for something from a specific publication you can limit your search by entering the name of the magazine or journal. You may also choose to search more than one database at the same time by checking them before clicking "continue".

Suggestion: For articles on combating organized crime, do a Basic Search (keyword):

"organized crime" and "law enforcement"

Newspaper Source Plus

Complete full-text content of regional, national, and international news.

Suggestion: For newspaper articles on gang prevention using community policing, do a keyword search after choosing the newspapers you wish to search:

gangs and community oriented policing

GenderWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, Opposing Viewpoints, and CQ Researcher

These reference databases contain full-text articles exploring many issues, including administration of justice issues from domestic, ethnic and international newspapers, magazines, journals and U.S. government publications.

Suggestion: For articles on crime and criminal justice, do a keyword search for a specific crime or issue:

sexual abuse victims

Internet Resources

You may want to explore some Internet resources to supplement or enhance your research. Always be cautious of information you find on the Web since the quality of sources varies tremendously on the Internet. It is always a good idea to check the information against another source. As with all information resources, whether in print or on the Internet, you evaluate its quality based on the following criteria:

Accuracy: Is it free from mistakes and errors?
Authority: What are the qualifications of the author?
Objectivity: Is there any strong bias?
Currency: Is the information up-to-date?
Coverage: To what extent is the topic explored?

Examples of Relevant Web Sites:

Your Public Law Library (http://www.publiclawlibrary.org/)

Florida State University, School of Criminology & Criminal Justice (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/)

Federal Bureau of Investigations: Reports and Publications (http://www.fbi.gov/publications.htm)

Crime and Victims Statistics - U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/)

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/)

Citation of Sources

You must cite the sources that you use. All direct quotes must be cited; all ideas or facts taken from some other writer, even though in your own words, must be cited. It is PLAGIARISM if you copy another's words without quoting or if you paraphrase another's ideas or words without giving credit to the author.

Keep printouts of your sources, or write out all pertinent information on author, title, publisher, date, or Internet address to identify where you got the information. Follow the format recommended by your instructor or ask a librarian to show you a "style manual." Most administration of justice instructors require that you use the MLA format. For online help, use the MLA WORKS CITED GUIDE and TEMPLATES at http://www.laspositascollege.edu/library/cited.php, as well as the online resource, NoodbleBib, a bibliography composer. From the LPC Library Homepage choose the Citation Style Guides link and MLA or NoodleBib.

Frances Hui, Reference Librarian

Email a Librarian

Library Telephone: 925.424.1150
Library Fax: 925.606.7249