Subject Research guide
Forensic Sciences

Find Articles | Find Books | Reference | Evaluating | Citing | Internet

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Top 3 Resources

Books: The CAT
Journal Articles:
PubMed (Medline)
Encyclopedia: Access Science

Articles and Databases

• PubMed (Medline) covers all aspects of biomedicine.
• TOXNET databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases.
• Criminal Justice Abstracts covers articles from the major journals in criminology and related disciplines.
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) contains summaries of more than 150,000 publications on criminal justice.
• Biological Abstracts is the premier database for all of biology. Especially strong in gentics and microbiology.
• LegalTrac articles in law reviews, law journals, specialty law and bar association journals, and legal newspapers.
• Web of Science (cited references) search for new articles which cite an older article by using the "cited ref" search mode.
• Dissertations & Theses includes dissertations from most U.S. institutions.

Don't forget: Try These First if you want general popular interest magazines and newspapers or pro and con debate information.

Article Search Tips: Finding the best articles on your topic requires a number of steps:

• Select a database from the listabove.
• Enter and combine terms appropriate to your topic
• Look at the best references you retrieve and determine the subject terms used for those articles. Then revise your search using these new terms.
• Write down or print off all pertinent information (called the 'citation') including the journal title, volume, date, and page numbers.
• Explore other databases and subject terms (which vary between databases) for more information.

Get the full text: Once you find the citation in a database, try the button to see if Penn State has the electronic or print version of the article you need. If the electronic version is available, it will appear as the first link on the Get it! menu. If the article is not available electronically, click on The CAT link to automatically search our catalog and see if Penn State has a print copy. If no other copy is available, you can use the ILLiad link to request it from another library.

Already have a citation? Use Citation Linker to see if Penn State has it online or in print!

Find Books:

Use The CAT for finding books owned by Penn State.

CAT Search Tips: The CAT is the list of what is owned by Penn State Libraries. Go to the Browse function if you are looking for a specific title or author (type last name first). Go to the Keyword function and combine terms to search on a topic then use the subject headings from relevant books for additional search terms. Write down the call number and location for any book you want. For more detailed searching information go to the Quick Guide to the CAT.

Suggested CAT Search Terms: Try searching for general concepts (i.e.forensic anthropology or forensic ballistics) or specific aspects (i.e. dna fingerprinting or diatoms and drowning).

Call Numbers: At University Park, most materials in the life sciences are located on the 4th floor of Paterno Library. General call numbers and subject areas are:

• HV6001-HV9920 - Crimes and Criminals
• HV8073-HV8078 - Criminal Investigation
• RA1001-RA1171 - Forensic Medicine
• RA1228 - Forensic Toxicology

Books Elsewhere: WorldCat

Libraries Borrowing Policies: Once you have the books, check them out at the nearest lending desk or self check-out station. Loan periods are usually four weeks but books can be recalled for another user, so respond promptly to library notices. For more information see the University Libraries Lending Code.

Reference Material

Access Science is the online equivalent of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and contains in depth articles on many basic science concepts.

Look for printed Encyclopedias of Forensics in the library.

Handbook of forensic services is online from the FBI.

Evaluating Resources for Content

To evaluate print sources and web sites, you should ask a series of questions concerning the source’s currency, authority, validity, intended audience and bias. See this How to Evaluate Information site for details.

Citing Your Sources

When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent. Check this Quick Guide to Citation Styles for details and format.

Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy. See this Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty.

Internet Resources

You can look for information on the Internet by using one of the 'guides' listed below, or by using an Internet Search Engine like Google. Usually the search engines are most appropriate when you have a narrow, specific information need. If you are just looking for information in a general topic area, a subject guide is most appropriate.

• Forensic Sciences Resources on the Internet from Cynthia Holt.
• Zeno's Forensic Site a comprehensive collection of sites arranged by subspecialty.
• Kruglick's Forensic Resource and Criminal Law Search Site web resources arranged by forensic subspecialty.
• Reddy's Forensic Page a wide variety of sources are included.