Bachelor of Criminology: Journal Articles

Journal Article Databases

The databases listed below contain articles on the subject of criminology from a wide range of journals.

Try to work out which databases are most likely to contain the information that you need.  Consider the:

  • Subject:  Does the database contain the information that you are looking for?
  • Jurisdiction:  Does the database have information on the jurisdiction (country) that you are interested in?
  • Features:  Does the database have a feature that will make your search easier?  E.g. can it limit results to peer reviewed, or by jurisdiction

If you still can't decide, then choose:

  1. Either Library Search or Google Scholar; and
  2. A database with good coverage of the Australian jurisdiction.  e.g., CINCH; and
  3. A broader social sciences database.  e.g. Sage, Springer, Wiley or Criminal Justice Database.

For example:  Library Search, CINCH, and Criminal Justice Database.

 

What is Peer Review?

A peer reviewed article has been read, reviewed, and approved by subject experts. This adds an additional level of quality control. Peer reviewed journals may also be called refereed or scholarly journals.

The video below explains more detail about the peer review process.

 

 

How do you check if an article is peer reviewed?

Some databases, such as AGIS allow you to refine your results to just peer reviewed articles. 

Other databases, such as Hein do not mention if the article is peer reviewed. Therefore if you need to check if an article is peer reviewed you can use the database Ulrichsweb.  Type the name of the journal (not the name of the article). If the black and white referees jumper icon is next to the name of the journal this means that it is peer reviewed.

Alternatively you can also search for the journal's web page. If the journal is peer reviewed their web page will usually mention this.