CJE 2331: Ethics in Criminal Justice

This guide includes information for this course specifically. General information about criminal justice can also be found on the Crimimolgy & Law Subject Guide. Other subject and course information is available from the Subject & Course Guides section.


Position Paper

The first step in any research project is to find a topic. The sites below will help spark ideas for some interesting position paper topics.

• National Criminal Justice Reference Service's Topic Index provides statistical data that will help students create valid arguments for a variety of issues.
• Criminal Justice Ethics page is compiled as a supplement to a criminal justice text book. The links summarize the chapters in the text and provide some good launching points for possible topics.
• Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics also includes some interesting articles.
• The University College library at Broward Community College provides subject pathfinders for many topics, including the following that may be appropriate for this position paper:
• • Insanity Defense
  • Juveniles Tried as Adults
  • Juvenile Justice System
  • Miranda Rule
  • Police Brutality
  • Prison Privatization
  • Serial Murder
  • Sex Offender Notification
  • Three Strikes Laws

Another good starting point is the Opposing Viewpoints and At Issue book series. These books present various sides to contraversial issues. The image below shows you how to search for this book series.

After you decide on your topic, use the catalog to find books and the databases to find journal and magazine articles.

Books

Use the Catalog to find books in the libraries' circulating collection, as well as reference sources, government documents, and other materials.

Library Catalog Subject Author Keyword
Limit to: Print Books E-books Audio/Visual

Electronic books can be found in the catalog with additional reference and e-book resources available on our e-books page.

Periodicals & Databases

Magazines, newspapers and journals are available in print at all LSCC libraries and through online databases.

Finding Articles

Databases provide indexes for articles on a large variety of topics. LSCC has access to more than 70 databases on a range of topics. You can access databases alphabetically or by clicking on the subject categories below.

• General Databases provide articles on a wide variety of disciplines and usually provide sufficient information for most general research
• Law & Public Affairs Databases will provide articles about specific education topics and will help you with more in-depth research.

To access LSCC Databases, login using your X-ID and PIN number (last four digits of your Social Security number). For more infomation visit our how to use databases and find articles pages.

Citation

Remember, plagiarism is a serious violation of LSCC's Academic Integrity policy, so you must cite any idea or direct quote imported from an outside source. The links below provide citation examples and formatting instructions.

• For APA and MLA citation styles, refer to the libraries' Citation Center for printable guides and other help with documentation. Ask a librarian for additional assistance.
• For other documentation styles, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides good examples and instruction.