This page provides guidance for researchers, including links to library resources, tutorial videos and slide presentations, and related websites. Covers general research skills, suggested resources, and sources like news databases and sites. Also contains suggested keywords and links to criminology and regular dictionaries and thesauri.Getting StartedStart with news articles and encyclopedias to gain a general understanding of your topic. Use this information to generate a list of keywords to help you in your main search. It's okay to use Google, Wikipedia, or other online non-scholarly resources to help you get familiar with your topic, just keep in mind you usually cannot cite them as sources in your work. When you search online, remember to test any website you visit for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose. Follow this link to learn about evaluating resources.Depending on your topic, you may need to search broadly using Omni, Laurier Library's academic research tool, and our interdisciplinary databases. Omni captures a lot of information, but it's not infallible; you should always visit appropriate databases and search them directly as well. Visit the Introduction page of this guide for a list of relevant databases, or visit the full list of available databases. Watch this video for a quick demo on how to develop a search strategy.Click here for quick videos about evaluating resources.Click here for a guide to reading strategies for scholarly materials. For information on finding legal resources, please visit the Law & Society Subject Guide. Suggested Titles for General Research SkillsDeveloping Information Literacy Skills: A Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Citing SourcesInformation NowAn Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research Theory and PracticeMaking Sense - A Student's Guide to Research and Writing - Social SciencesThe Undergraduate Research Handbook Suggested Titles for Advanced Research SkillsDoing Your Research Project with DocumentsSucceeding with Your Master's Dissertation - A Step-by-Step HandbookThesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language Suggested Titles for Criminology Research SkillsCriminological Research: Understanding Qualitative MethodsDecolonising Criminology Imagining Justice in a Postcolonial WorldDoing Real Research - A Practical Guide to Social ResearchThe Field Researcher's Handbook - A Guide to the Art and Science of Professional FieldworkInterviewing Elites, Experts and the Powerful in CriminologyLittle Quick Fix: Write a QuestionnaireLittle Quick Fix: Do Your InterviewsLittle Quick Fix: Use Your Interview DataQualitative Research in Criminology: Cutting-Edge MethodsResearch Methods in Criminal Justice and CriminologyThe Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Criminology Suggested News SourcesCPI.Q (Canadian Newspapers and Magazines)CBC Curio (Educational audio and video programs and documentaries from CBC and Radio-Canada)CBC Digital Archives (CBC radio and television news clips, interviews, and more, documenting numerous aspects of Canadian life and history)Canadian News - ProQuest (Searching both Canadian Newsstand Complete and CBCA - access to Canadian journals, magazines and news resources on all topics)The Agenda @ TVO (TVO's flagship current affairs program, devoted to exploring social, political, cultural, and economic issues)Nexis Uni (Full-text documents for international news, business, legal research, and key people in the news. )Factiva (A full-text resource with news, business information and journal articles drawn from almost 9000 worldwide sources, including Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and the KW Record) Suggested Keywords and Subject HeadingsTry using the following keywords and subject headings when searching our databases: Affective disorders; Antisocial Behavior; Antisocial personality disorders; Anxiety; Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autism; Behavior; Behavior disorders; Behavior disorders in children; Borderline personality disorder; Childhood abuse; Conduct disorders; Conduct disorders in children; Crime of passion; Crime rate; Crime -- Sociological aspects; Criminal behavior -- Genetic aspects; Criminal behavior; Criminal psychology; Cruelty; Depression, Mental; Drug abuse; Intelligence; Manic-depressive illness; Mental illness; Mental illness -- Prevention; Mentally ill -- Public opinion; Motivation; Murder; Narcissism; Neurobehavioral disorders; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Outcomes; Perpetrator; Personality disorders; Phobias; Psychology; Psychology -- Research; Psychology, Pathological; Psychopaths; Psychotherapy; Rebelliousness; Recidivism; Serial Arson; Serial Killer; Serial Rape; Schizophrenia; Separation anxiety; Sexual disorders; Shiftlessness; Sociopaths; Substance abuse; Torture; Victims; Violence; Violent crime; Voyeurism, etc.Don't forget to combine these keywords with the topic-specific ones you develop on your own.The Concise Dictionary of Crime and JusticeDictionary of CriminologyA Dictionary of Forensic ScienceA Dictionary of GangsThe Sage Dictionary of Criminology (2006 version available on shelf at Brantford)Several Dictionaries in Lexis Advance Quicklaw (Browse>Sources>Canada>By Category>Dictionaries)The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral SciencesThesaurus.comThe Merriam-Webster ThesaurusThesaurus Search - National Criminal Justice Reference Service (more of a subject heading list than a thesaurus)