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This web file accompanies the library workshop for CRJ 201 – Management for Criminal Justice

 

Workshop Objectives: After this library workshop, students will better understand:

  • The importance of planning and organization when finding and managing information.
  • How to use the catalog, subscription information databases, and web resources to find relevant information.
  • Where to start looking for information, via particular highlighted resources.

The ultimate goal of this workshop is to help you do well on your assignment, and to do well on your assignment you must be able to use information effectively.  It’s hard to define exactly what it means to “use information effectively,” but it certainly involves the following four activities:

I. Clarify the questions you want to answer and the requirements of the assignment.

II. Plan and carry out your search for information.

III. Select appropriate information sources that answer your questions.

IV. Organize the information you collect, and cite your information sources properly in your paper.

 
Comments about each activity follow.  Be aware that in your actual work, you will probably be jumping “back and forth” among the four activities (In fact, we strongly recommend jumping “back and forth!”)  

I. Clarify the questions you want to answer and the requirements of the assignment.

Always keep the assignment in mind as you work.  What questions are you trying to answer?  Luckily, your assignment is clear about this.  Of course, if any questions arise, then ask your instructor.

Important tip: Your assignment asks you to document the information sources you use.  Prepare for this at the beginning of your research by writing down the complete identifying information for every source you consult!  Do this and you will avoid spending hours reconstructing the sources you checked!

II. Plan and carry out your search for information.

As you consider the questions you want to answer, think about the information sources you might consult to find answers to your questions.  Write down your ideas about the sources you will consult.

For the assignment involving HIV, here are some questions you’d want to consider – done in “stream of consciousness” style, as you might do while thinking:  (We’re not providing answers to these questions on this webpage, but during the class we will ask attendees to offer their own suggestions.)

Hmmm.  This officer has HIV, and wants to tell his fellow officers.  Where do I start?  Can I consult older sources, such as ones older than 1980?  Is the law involved?  If so – which laws?  State laws?  Federal laws?  Or both?  Can I use the Internet to find these laws, or are books and articles better?  Have other police departments handled this issue and publicized their experiences?  Maybe there’s a whole book on this, or at least a chapter of a book. That would be very helpful!  How would I found out? What would be the best sources to check?


We also suggest making a tentative research plan, to help organize your search.  Here’s a sample plan, although yours would be more detailed:

First, I’ll use the catalog and try to find books on the topic of HIV and employment discrimination in police departments.

Second, I’ll try to find some articles from the last few years on HIV and employment discrimination in police departments

IMPORTANT: Never assume that no one has written about your topic and tried to answer your specific questions.  The sources you need are out there, you just need to find them.  NEVER GIVE UP! ASK A LIBRARIAN IF YOU’RE HAVING DIFFICULTY!

 To assist you, the below table gives you some tips about finding information from various formats, and mentions a few good general sources:  (WARNING: Not every detail about each format is given.)

BOOKS

For BHCC Library Online Catalog (to find physical books at BHCC Library and other NOBLE libraries), go to http://innopac.noblenet.org/search~S37/X   

(NOTE!  The catalog does not contain the full-text of books!  For electronic books, try Netlibrary, listed on our database page.)

·        Try doing a keyword search using words that describe your topic.  Your goal is to find just ONE book on your exact topic, and then you will search under this book’s SUBJECT, to find other books.

SAMPLE BOOKS IN THE BHCC LIBRARY REFERENCE COLLECTION:

Encyclopedia of drugs and alcohol    REF HV5804 .E53 1995  

Massachusetts practice   REF KFM 480.M3 (Massachusetts’s state legal encyclopedia set)

Encyclopedia of AIDS   REF RA644.A25 E5276 2001

 

ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES

Our electronic database page is at  http://www.noblenet.org/bhcc/databases.htm. 

·        Try doing a keyword search using words that describe your topic.  Your goal is to find just ONE book on your exact topic, and then you will search under this book’s SUBJECT, to find other books.

SAMPLE DATABASES LISTED ON OUR DATABASE PAGE:

Criminal Justice Periodicals Index – This resource indexes over 200 periodicals in criminal justice, with some full-text articles provided.

Lexis/Nexis – For state and federal statutory law, case law, as well as articles that analyze the law.

Infotrac Web – Provides access to newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals across almost all disciplines.

EBSCO – Another large, multi-disciplinary database that provides access to many journal articles.


WEB SITES

Anyone can put up a web site, so you need to be especially cautious about the websites you use.  Search engines like Google make no distinction between good and bad information. When librarians think about website reliability, we use the following criteria:

·        Accuracy

·        Credibility

·        Documentation

·        Appropriateness

The website http://library.sonoma.edu/research/subject/evaluate.html by the Sonoma State University Library in California provides tips on evaluating information resources.

 

SOME WEBSITES WITH HELPFUL RESOURCES:

http://www.aclu.org/WorkplaceRights/WorkplaceRightslist.cfm?c=178   ACLU’s excellent webpage provides a critical look at drug testing, and provides good research leads.

http://www.alalinc.net/library/over_research_master.cfm?Action=Drug   A good, but dated, bibliography on drug testing in the workplace by the State Library of Alabama.

http://www.alalinc.net/library/over_research_master.cfm?Action=Aids  Also by the State Library of Alabama, a good, but dated, bibliography on AIDS and the right of privacy.

http://www.tcc.fl.edu/dept/library/minibibs/drugtesting.htm  A good bibliography of articles on drug testing, by the Tallahassee Community College Library.

http://www.policedrugtesting.com/   Although this web site was posted by PSYCHEMEDICS, a company that sells drug tests, it still tells you the drug tests the company is selling, which is a starting point for learning what tests are available. 

http://www.alrp.org/article.php?list=type&type=11  The excellent resources of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) provide help with the legal issues arising from AIDS or HIV.  Focuses on both California and federal law. 

http://www.workrights.org/issue_drugtest.html  This website, by the NationalWorkrights Institute, provides excellent legal information on drug testing in the workplace, and includes a legal guide on drug testing among public employees.

III. Select appropriate information sources that answer your questions.

For every source you consult, consider all the below questions:

·        Does the information source answer all (or at least part) of one of your questions?

·        Is the author of the information reputable? (Choose The New York Times over The National Inquirer!)

·        Is the information recent?  (In general, more recent sources are better than old ones.  For legal issues, it is particularly important to get current information, because the law changes.) 

·        If the information source is helpful, did you identify it completely in your notes?

IV. Organize the information you collect, and cite the information sources property in your paper.

You need a way to organize the information you find, because there’s a LOT of information out there.  Here’s one powerful approach we recommend trying:

Identify and write down in your own words the question that the author of the information is trying to answer.  (Do this next to the source’s citation!)  

Here are several reasons why this approach is worth trying:

·        You must THINK in order to do this. (Thinking is hard, but always worthwhile.)

·        It’s quick.  (You do NOT have to read an entire article, book, or website to identify the question.)

·        You will be organizing the information WITHIN YOUR OWN MIND!

·        You will plan better, when it comes time to select information sources to read in more detail!

To help you see the power of this method, here are three sample citations to articles, with the question each article tries to answer:

1. Mook, Jonathan R.,  and Erin E. Powell. "Substance abuse and the ADA: what every employer should know. (Americans with Disabilities Act)." Employee Relations Law Journal 22.n2 (Autumn 1996): 57-78. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. Bunker Hill Community College. 05 November 2005 

QUESTION THE ARTICLE ANSWERS: How does the Americans with Disabilities act influence they way employers handle drug testing?

 

2. Page, Douglas. "Drug screening of police: on the high road.(NARCOTICS INVESTIGATION TECHNOLOGY)." Law Enforcement Technology 32.9 (Sept 2005): 180(7). Health Reference Center Academic. Thomson Gale. Bunker Hill Community College. 05 November 2005

QUESTION THE ARTICLE ANSWERS: What is the current state of drug screening of police?  What have some police departments done already?

 

3. Fall, 2005, 47 Ariz. L. Rev. 857, 5891 words, CASE NOTE: Petersen v. City of Mesa: Extinguishing Random, Suspicionless Drug Testing of Firefighters, Jessica L. Tom

QUESTION THE ARTICLE ANSWERS: What are the details, and legal arguments, in a legal case in Arizona which involved drug testing of firefighters?

 

Will this approach work for you?  You won’t know until you try it! 

You will also need to cite your information properly, and thereby avoid plagiarism.  Various citation styles exist.  In the BHCC Library Reference Collection the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, with the call number REF LB2369 .G53 1999, provides assistance with MLA citation format.  The following websites also provide guidance on this important issue:

Avoiding plagiarism: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html

Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/works_cited

Guides to citing sources: http://www.augie.edu/library/articles/citing.html

Citation styles for research papers: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm

Citation styles specifically on citing online sources: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html

 
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Last reviewed November 07, 2005
Last updated November 07, 2005