Key Criminology Journals
Criminology – The core journal of the American Society of Criminology, this title is one of the most influential in the field. It covers sociology, psychology, systems analysis, design theory, and more, while focusing on quantitative research methodology. (Impact Factor 2.658)
Criminal Justice and Behavior – This title is more psychological in scope, and primarily critiques and evaluates correctional programs with appropriate criminological theory and research. (Impact Factor 2.658)
Criminology and Public Policy – The main goal of Criminology and Public Policy is to use empirical criminology research to positively affect public policy. As such, the articles are geared more explicitly towards issues with relevant policy implications rather than abstract theory.
The European Journal of Criminology – Published by SAGE publications and the European Society of Criminology, this journal features several approaches, such as theoretical discussions, empirical analyses, and comparative research studies.
The British Journal of Criminology – The primary publication of Britain’s top criminology organization, the British Journal of Criminology publishes research from various social science approaches and from scholars all around the world.
Journal of Quantitative Criminology – Focusing on rigorous empirical investigations, this journal provides original criminology research spanning statistics, economics, political science and other disciplines. (Impact factor 2.378)
Theoretical Criminology – In contrast to the quantitatively-focused nature of some of the other journals, this title publishes research on the theories of criminal behavior and social deviance, with a goal to spark active debate on the causes of crime.
Key Criminology Data Sources
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data – The goal of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data is to “facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology.” To this end, the archive preserves, curates and shares data and even holds training in empirical criminology analysis.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/
Uniform Crime Reports –Put together by the FBI, the UCR program is a cooperative effort from thousands of US law enforcement agencies who report crime data, creating a large centralized data which can be mined and analyzed for research purposes.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr#cius
American FactFinder –A product of the US Census Bureau, this resource features copious population, housing, economic, and geographic data. These statistics can be a great asset in analysis of broader demographic trends to support criminology research.
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
CrimeStat – A spatial statistics program for the large-scale analysis of crime incident locations.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/CrimeStat/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive – Created by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ), this resource contains a wealth of behavioral health data for download and analysis.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/SAMHDA/
Best Criminology Websites
InternetJournalofCriminology.com – This is a free, open-access online criminology journal run by Dr Mandy Shaw of Nottingham Trent University. It features peer-reviewed articles, primary research papers (not anonymously peer-reviewed but reviewed by the IJC editorial board), PHD and master’s theses, and even some undergraduate research.
http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/
The Criminologist – The official newsletter of the American Society of Criminology. Archived issues are freely available online in PDF format.
http://www.asc41.com/criminologist.html
Online Communities
Crimspace – Run by major criminology publisher SAGE, this website is billed as the online network for the academic communities of criminology and criminal justice. It features user blogs, a forum, podcast and even popular Twitter and Facebook profiles.
Critical Criminology – Affiliated with the American Society of Criminology, this site offers a forum, listserv, user blog and a Facebook page which features active discussions.
Blogs
Sociology and Criminology at Keele University – Blog from the School of Sociology and Criminology at Keele University. Multiple authors reflect on diverse issues in criminology and society.
http://socandcrimatkeele.blogspot.com/
Centre of Criminology Library Blog – Blog by the librarians of the Centre of Criminology Library, Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto. Features news, opinion and research.
http://crimbrary.blogspot.com/
The General Blog of Crime – A multi-author blog from a group of criminologists who attended the same graduate school. Mostly opinion pieces on current criminology events.
http://www.generalblogofcrime.com/
This is the end of part 2 of our research guide.
Read the explanation of the sources we have chosen to include