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
Provides dictionaries, encyclopedias, pro/con discussions, and other reference sources for background information. Also included are short videos, high-resolution images, sound files, animations, etc.
Gale eBooks
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

FBI Records: The Vault
The Vault is the FBI's FOIA Library, containing 6,700 scanned documents and other media. Search for information by keyword or browse by topic.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is the place to discover, access, and analyze data on crime and justice.
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NACJD hosts several large-scale datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN).

The Constitution

The Constitution

Links to the official website for the Constitution of the United States and the National Archives.

Statistics Sources

Statista
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.

Bureau of Justice Statistics from U.S. Department of Justice
The BJS is the primary statistical agency of the Department of Justice and the United States' primary source for criminal justice statistics.
The BJS provides information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
FBI Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics
These statistics are generated as a part of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
The UCR Program includes data from more than 18,000 U.S. and tribal law enforcement agencies. Agencies participate voluntarily and submit their crime data either through a state UCR program or directly to the FBI's UCR Program.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is the place to discover, access, and analyze data on crime and justice.
more...less...
NACJD hosts several large-scale datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN).
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.
Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2012: Section 5. Law Enforcement, Courts and Prisons
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.
This is the final version of this document, as the U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for the program in 2012.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administation Stats & Facts page
View four data sets from the DEA: Clandestine Labs, Domestic Arrests, Staffing & Budget, and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).