Library: Middlesex CJS 2940: Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice: Choose Your Topic

Choose Your Topic

Great research topics are all around us! Start with your professor's instructions - is there a particular subject area you must stay within?

You may want to consult:

Course materials - textbook, handouts
Personal interests and experiences
Various news outlets (TV, print, online)
Library databases - Try the following:

In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Opposing Viewpoints offers material to support differing views to help develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia.  Find overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of today's important social issues, including racism, capital punishment, global warming, and voting rights with reference sources, newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly journals, court cases, government documents, viewpoints, maps, images, audio, video and websites. 
In Context: Global Issues This link opens in a new window Designed to support global awareness, In Context: Global Issues ties together a wealth of authoritative content that empowers students to critically analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world. Explore issues within government, law, health, science and technology, society and culture; it contains 250 country pages and more than 400 issue pages along with 6,000 viewpoint commentaries.
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window Featuring a dynamic design and a wealth of features, Issues & Controversies helps researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Issues and Controversies provides up-to-date, in-depth and objective information on prominent and hotly debated issues. It combines objective analysis with clear explanations of opposing points of view. Chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information augment the balanced, accurate coverage of current and historical events.

Develop a Search Strategy

1. What are the main concepts of your topic and what keywords might you use when searching?

Example topic: Does playing violent video games lead to violent behavior in adolescents? Key concepts are in bold. Other possible keywords: Media violence, aggression, popular culture, teenagers or youth, psychological aspects, social aspects.
Modify your search strategy after you begin searching. Use the power of the databases (limiters, suggested subjects, and more) to further develop your search. Use broader concepts when searching the online catalog for books.

2. Determine what information you need. Follow your instructor's syllabus carefully. Ask yourself the following questions:

How many sources do I need? (Did your instructor give you a number?)
What types of sources do I need? (Books? Articles? Websites?)

3. Get background information on your topic.

Use our online reference databases to gather information on the broader context of your topic. This preliminary research will also help identify more keywords for searching.

Middlesex Campus Library

Middlesex CJS 2940: Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice

Assignment Specifics

Choose Your Topic

Develop a Search Strategy