Reading and reviewing journal articles is an excellent way to improve your knowledge about a particular aspect of a field or the discipline.  Criminology is a interdisciplinary field of research, therefore, you may need to consult other research guides. 

In general, databases provide indexes to journals and give an abstract of each article within the journal.  Some databases provide the full-text of the article.  Additionally, databases contain:

• peer-reviewed journals
• non-peer-reviewed journals and magazines
• government reports and documents
• conference proceedings
• dissertations
• newspaper articles

For guidance, review you course syllabus for the type and quantity of material required for your research. 

Most databases provide several access points, such as:

• Author: (Dershowitz, Alan) --last name, first name
• Keywords: (juvenile AND death penalty)
• Subject terms: (Capital punishment)
• Date ranges: (01/01/2000-10/31/2008)
• Title: The age of death: Appraising public opinion of juvenile capital punishment
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice

Using any combinations of these elements allows the researcher to narrow the results.

Electronic Resources