Research Guides: Pre-Law: Reference Sources

What are reference materials?

Reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, almanacs, and handbooks that can provide background information about your research topic. Reference resources are a great place to begin if you are researching an unfamiliar topic.

Get Encyclopedia and Dictionary Articles Online

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Dictionaries, encyclopedias, pro/con discussions, and other reference sources that can be searched using keywords. Also included are short videos, high resolution images, sound files, animations, etc.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
An online library of encyclopedias and specialized ebooks series for multidisciplinary research. Subjects include Art; Business; Government and Law; History; Language and Literature; Science; Social Sciences; and Technology.

Online Reference Resources

CJ Central
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From Prentice Hall, a comprehensive collection of Criminal Justice terminology.
FBI Records: the Vault
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A website created in response to the Freedom of Information Act, The Vault, while not a comprehensive research tool, does provide a means to view previously unavailable FBI case files.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
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University of Michigan's Comprehensive listing of national and international data sources.

Statistics Sources

Bureau of Justice Statistics- U.S. Department of Justice
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Features of this site include crime and victim statistics, crime trends, data collections and related Web sites.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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This page provides links to uniform crime reports (UCR), community outreach programs (COP) and an overview on fingerprint identification.
Govistics
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Govistics is the online website from the Center for Government Research, an independent non-partisan nonprofit that provides research and analysis for public policy.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data(NACJD)
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NACJD's mission "is to facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; and through specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data."
NationMaster
A central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. Data obtained from the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD and other sources.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
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Comprehensive listing of statistics compiled by the Utilization of Criminal Justice Project at University of Albany.
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012: Section 5. Law Enforcement, Courts and Prisons
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This section of the abstract presents data on crimes
committed, victims of crimes, arrests, and data related to criminal violations and the criminal justice system.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administation Stats & Facts page

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statistics and data sets related to business & consumers, media, the environment, sports, communications, transportation, education, health care, and country and city-level economic and political information. In addition to tables and charts, Statista provides infographics and complete dossiers on selected industries and topics, analyst insights and case studies. Includes primary sources, unlimited downloads, and export of results in PowerPoint, Excel PDF and Graphic (PNG) formats.

Reference Books in Print

Legal Research in a Nutshell by Morris L. Cohen; Kent Olson
Call Number: KF240 .C54 2010
ISBN: 9780314264084
Publication Date: 2010-05-28
Location: Reference 1st Floor
The Immigration Handbook by Ivan Vasic
Call Number: JV6543 .V37 2009
ISBN: 9780786440092
Publication Date: 2008-11-06
Location: Reference 1st Floor
Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law by Brian L. Cutler (Editor)
Call Number: K346 .E53 2008
ISBN: 9781412951890
Publication Date: 2007-12-21
Location: Reference 1st Floor
The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law by Norm Goldstein; Associated Press Staff
Call Number: PN4783 .A83 2004
ISBN: 0465004881
Publication Date: 2004-06-29
Location: 1st Floor Reference
Black's Law Dictionary by Henry C. Black; Joseph R. Nolan; Jacqueline Nolen-Haley; Martina N. Alibrandi; Stephen C. Hicks
Call Number: KF156 .B53 1990
ISBN: 0314771654
Publication Date: 1990-09-01
Location: 1st Floor Reference