Transcript Criminology 220 January, 2009

Criminology 220
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CRIMINOLOGY 220:
RESEARCH METHODS IN
CRIMINOLOGY
JANUARY 26, 2012
Yolanda Koscielski, Criminology Liaison Librarian (Burnaby)
Simon Fraser University
Today’s class
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Unique (online) Criminology reference material
Finding books & articles
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Which databases or search tools to use?
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Strengths of each:
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Catalogue, Fast Search, Library Search, Subject-based Databases,
Google
 Scholarly
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journals versus popular or trade magazines
APA citation style and avoiding plagiarism
Where is help available?
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Library Research Guides
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The library’s homepage:
www.lib.sfu.ca
Click on “Browse Research
Guides”
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Library Research Guides
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Click on Criminology
and then pick Crim 220
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Start with Background Material
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What is it?
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Encyclopedias and other reference sources that provide a
topic overview and hint at sub-topics
Why use it?
Helps you narrow a topic that is too big; good starting point
 Helps you identify terminology used in the field
 Helps you identify key researchers
 Helps you find related readings
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Where to find?
Library reference section
 Online Reference Sources
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Background Material
Criminology Subcollection +
other social sciences collections
Broad
range of
Reference
Sources
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Criminology
Titles in
Criminology
and Criminal
Justice
Package
DSM-IV Online
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New subscription: DSM-IV-TR® Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – online!
Includes current and historical versions
 The
“standard diagnostic tool used by mental health
professionals…. Each psychiatric disorder…is
accompanied by a set of diagnostic criteria and
descriptive details including associated features,
prevalence, familial patterns, age-, culture-, and genderspecific features, and differential diagnosis”
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Sage Research Methods Online (SRMO)
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SRMO is an online portal to research methodology
information in the social sciences, critical and
instructional
 600
+ online books
 Chapter:
“Looking Forward: the Future of Qualitative
Research in Criminology”
 Chapter: “Doing Research on Crime and Justice: A Political
Endeavour?”
 Research
Methods Map
 Videos
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Sage Research Methods Online (SRMO)
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• Contains the Research Methods map with a
taxonomy of research methods
• Illustrates connections between
Criminology 220methodologies
Where to Search…?
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Catalogue
Fast
Search
Library
Search
Databases
Google
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Catalogue
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The “mothership” of SFU Library’s library data
Complete information on almost everything SFU
Library provides access to:
 Books
and eBooks (170,000 ebooks and 1,350,000
print books)
 Movies, (e.g., streaming NFB films)
 Sound effects
 Database names (Academic Search Premier, etc.)
 Journal Titles
 BUT:
no journal articles
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Catalogue Searching
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Catalogue Searching
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Start with keyword search
Identify a good title(s) and review its subject
headings – a core strength of the catalogue
Redo search using subject headings
 Good
strategy for any research
 Subject headings = topical terms from a controlled
vocabulary, assigned by human, allows for subject
collocation
 Usually 3-5, but could be 2-7 for each item
SFU’s “Google” – Fast Search
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•Books
•E-Books
•Journal Articles
•Newspaper Articles
•Images
•Videos/DVDs
•Music
Includes journal
articles +
newspaper
articles – *many*
•Maps
•Slides
•SFU theses/dissertations
•Government documents
•Sound recordings (CBC
Ideas)
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FastSearch
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Option to limit to
scholarly
publications
(but doublecheck!)
Option to limit to
journal articles
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FastSearch
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Various content
types, including
newspaper
content
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FastSearch
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Subject
Terms ≠
Subject
Headings
Use with
caution
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Fast Search
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Key advantages of Fast Search:
 Broad
search can capture unique terms/proper names
across thousands of sources
 Tool for beginning research outside your discipline
 3 Branch availability
 Search for books and articles at the same time
 Easy + fun faceted searching
Linking to Full-Text
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Proxy
from
home to
access
Fast
Search
content
Full-text
through
multiple
sources
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Library Search
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Library Search
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Searches 100% of Fast Search content, (which
contains 100% of the library’s catalogue)
Divides Fast Search content by info type – books &
media, newspaper articles & more, journal articles
Additionally, includes:
 Summit,
the Institutional Repository
 The library website – FAQs, Research Guides & other
web pages
 Course reserves
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Library Search
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ISBN or DOI  no results?  WorldCat 
Interlibrary loan request form
Best Bets
 Criminal
Code
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Locating Databases
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Locating Databases
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Databases by Subject Area
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Which Databases?
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Criminology specific/appropriate databases:
 Criminal
Justice Abstracts
 PsycINFO
 Sociological Abstracts
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General databases:
 Academic
Search Premier
 Google Scholar – Access through library!
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PsycINFO
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Subject Databases
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Why use subject databases? Key strenghts:
 Allow
for literature reviews
 Sophisticated search limits, based on higher quality
metadata
 Extra tools (times cited, bibliometrics, etc.)
 Subject-relevant data fields, E.g. PsycINFO
 Research
methodology (from brain imaging to twin study)
 Age group (child, teen, adult, senior)
 Population type: male, female, animal, human, inpatient,
outpatient
Google
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Access Google through the library for free access to
subscription resources (automatic on campus)
PRO: Fast and easy!
BUT: Mysterious algorithms – what is covered? Are
some publishers favored? Can the database
accurately judge what is scholarly?
AND: dirty data
AND: less control over search
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Articles: Scholarly versus Popular
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Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
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
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You must use scholarly journal articles
Look for synonymous terms such as:
 Scholarly
articles
 Academic journals
 Peer-reviewed
 Refereed
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Definition of a Scholarly Article:
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Articles in scholarly journals are peer-reviewed*
“Peer-reviewed journals are publications that include only
those articles that have been reviewed and/or qualified
by a selected panel of acknowledged experts in the field
of study covered by the journal” --EBSCO
Peer-reviewed articles = Refereed articles
 “Academic article” used interchangeably with “scholarly
article”
*key criterion = peer-reviewed
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Scholarly versus Popular
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Scholarly Journal Articles
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Canadian Journal of Criminology
and Criminal Justice
Audience: Academics
Writers: Unpaid scholars and
researchers
Often visually boring with tables,
charts but no advertising
Include abstracts and citations
Good for historical, current,
scholarly, in-depth perspectives
Subject-specific jargon
Key criterion: peer-reviewed
Popular Magazine Articles
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Macleans
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Audience: General public
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Writers: Paid, non-specialist
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Colorful, graphics, advertisements
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Does not include abstracts or
citations
Good for broad overview and
popular perspective
Accessible language
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APA guides and plagiarism tutorial
APA guides
Plagiarism tutorial
APA Guides
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Actual APA guides available for check-out in the
library
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APA Guides
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APA provides much guidance for citing scholarly journal
articles – quite straightforward
More unusual items – course pack materials, Facebook posts,
data tables from Statistics Canada, etc., can be trickier – grey
areas that may require some interpretation
In these cases,
1.
Follow APA general citation guidelines (order of elements)
2.
Check out APA blog for extra guidance
Always proofread auto-generated citations!!!
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Writing and avoiding plagiarism
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If you don’t know how to correctly cite a document,
feel free to ask a librarian for help.
If you want help with writing/structuring your paper
or quoting/paraphrasing documents, see the
Student Learning Commons
 Workshops
 One-to-one
appointments
 Drop-in consultations
 Online handouts
Patchwriting?
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
What is “patchwriting”?
1. Copying portions of papers from other classes and
then resubmitting them as part of a new paper in a
different class (a form of plagiarism)
2. Using an inappropriately informal and colloquial
writing style
3. A form of plagiarism in which a writer relies too
heavily on the words and sentence structure of the
author’s original text
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Is this plagiarism?
Direct quotation:
“When a significant violation of public trust has
occurred, lying is a common corollary because the
wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming &
Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838).
Student A’s paper:
If a serious violation of public trust occurs, lying is often
the result because this action invites concealment
(Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).
Is this plagiarism?
Direct quotation:
“When a significant violation of public trust has
occurred, lying is a common corollary because the
wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming &
Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838).
Student A’s paper:
If a serious violation of public trust occurs, lying is often
the result because this action invites concealment
(Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).
Is this plagiarism?

Patchwriting =
A
form of plagiarism in which a writer relies too
heavily on the words and sentence structure of the
author’s original text.
Is this plagiarism?
Direct quotation:
“When a significant violation of public trust has occurred,
lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing
invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p.
838).
Student B’s paper:
Organizations often feel compelled to lie about their actions
when they are discovered to have taken advantage of the
public (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).
Need Help?
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
The library provides many ways to get help:
 In-person
at the reference desk
 Telephone
 Email
 Chat reference - AskAway
 Txt Us
 Learning Commons

Yolanda Koscielski, Criminology Liaison Librarian
[email protected]
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