Skip to Main Content

Criminology & Criminal Justice

A guide to library resources about criminology and criminal justice.

Vocabulary

Break down your thesis into concepts. Develop a list of synonyms.

EXAMPLE: women AND prisons

Combining different terms gives you different results.

Topic

Clearly define your thesis statement. Trouble spots to look out for:

Too Broad - EXAMPLE: gangs

  • Solution: add another concept to your topic which will narrow your thesis and make it more focused.
    EXAMPLE: women and gangs

Too Narrow - EXAMPLE: women AND gangs AND "family income"

[NOTE: to search a phrase use quotes]

  • Solution: Remove one secondary concept from your thesis.
    EXAMPLE: women AND gangs AND "family income"

Searching with Discover@UMSL

Searching with Discover@UMSL

Discover@UMSL provides access to a wide variety of sources through electronic databases and the UM System’s library catalog, including journal articles, books, ebooks, media, and more. The search tool pulls results from most of UMSL’s databases at once.

Our updated homepage makes it much easier to find the Discover@UMSL search tool, and it offers the option of limiting your search to peer-reviewed articles from the start. 

Top of University Libraries homepage featuring the Discover@UMSL search tool and buttons for popular resources and services


This guide offers tips on navigating the search tool. For tips on how to choose keywords and structure your search, see UMSL Library’s Effective Searching tutorials and the Combining Terms page of this guide. 

 

 1   On the library homepage (umsl.edu/library), type in your keywords and hit enter or click the Search button. Use the least number of words possible—the more keywords you enter, the smaller your list of results will be (because each result must contain all the words you enter). Use double quotation marks to search for exact phrases. If you want to limit your search to peer-reviewed articles from the start, you can select the limiter (circled in yellow) below the keyword box—or you can wait until you get to the results page to select that limiter.

Discover@UMSL query: remote learning "middle school". Limiter for peer reviewed articles only is circled in yellow.

 

 2   Log in using your full umsystem email address and password, then complete multifactor authentication.

NOTE: Discover@UMSL requires you to log in to see the full list of results and to access your library account. If you choose to search as a guest, you may be unable to read the titles of certain items; instead, you’ll see a message that reads: “Login to gain access to this result.” 

Sign in with your full umsystem email and password, then complete multifactor authentication

 

 3   Here are some helpful features of the results page:

 A   Limit your results by choosing filters (also called limiters) on the left side of the page. Two common examples are Peer Reviewed and publication date. Some filters are already selected by default to help direct you to UMSL’s holdings. If you selected the Peer Reviewed filter on the homepage, it will have a blue checkmark here.

 B   The icons under each title indicate at a glance what type of resource the item is. Some common examples are Academic Journal, Book, eBook, and Periodical.

 C   Usually, it’s obvious when UMSL provides access to the full text of an article (because you'll see a PDF, EPUB, or HTML icon below the item’s description). But sometimes, you need to click the Full Text Finder link to see if full text is available. Often it is, but if not you can click the Request this item through Interlibrary Loan link (which will appear on the Full Text Finder page) to get the article emailed to you from another library—for free! 

 D   The subject headings below the item’s citation information offer alternative search terms you can try.

 E   To see the full item description, hover your mouse over the first of the icons to the right of the title. To save the item to your personal folder to review later (see the Saving & Retrieving Items page), click the folder icon. (If you’re looking for the auto-generated citation in a particular format—such as APA, MLA, or Chicago—click the item's title and then select the Cite link on the right side of the detailed record page.)

Features on the results page (limits, resource type icons, full text icons, subject headings, and icons for full item description and save to folder)