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Police Discretion

This research guide was developed and maintained to support the university's CRIM 412 Police Discretion course.

Databases

Reference Databases

      CQ Researcher

      CREDO reference

      Encyclopedia of Associations

      Encyclopedia of Social Work

      Gale Virtual Reference Library

      Issues & Controversies

      ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

      SAGE Knowledge

      Social Issues in America

Book Databases and Catalogs

      ebrary's Academic Complete

      EBSCO's eBook Collection

      WorldCat

Journal Databases

      Academic Search Premier

      America: History and Life with Full Text

      Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text

      JSTOR

      Lexis-Nexis Academic

      Military & Government Collection

      Project Muse

      ProQuest Central

      ProQuest Criminal Justice

      PsycINFO

      SocINDEX with Full Text

      Social Work Abstracts

      

Online Tutorial: Popular vs Scholarly

Definitions

Peer-Reviewed
The process in which an article submitted to a scholarly journal is reviewed by other researchers/professors in the same field as the author (his/her peers) in order to be approved for publication. Peer-reviewed journals are scholarly.
 
Popular
This term is often used to refer to articles in periodicals but can include any type of resource material (Books, audiovisual items, etc.). Popular items are often noted to have the following characteristics:
  • Produced for a general audience
  •  Writing level and style that is for a general audience (lack of special terminology)
  • Authors who are paid staff writers having interest in, but less expertise in the subject area
  • Few or no references or citations
  • Publications that are general and current in topic (examples could include Time, Newsweek, or People)
Scholarly
This term is often applied to periodical articles and journals; however, it can also be applied to any items (Books, audiovisual materials, etc.)
A scholarly item may be characterized by the following:
  • Authors with credentials or extensive backgrounds in the subject field
  • Produced for an audience knowledgeable in the subject area
  • Written with terminology and technical jargon associated with the field
  • Journals that focus only on a particular subject
  • Usually have extensive references and citations
  • May be peer-reviewed