CRJ 301: Assignment 5

To properly focus your topic on a research question, you first need to understand what is known and believed about your topic, in other words, the scholarly consensus on your topic. Begin with reference sources, such as encyclopedia articles, textbooks, surveys in books and articles, informational library databases, reliable web sites, and statistics. Make a note of any questions or unresolved issues about the topic. These may make good research questions!

• U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)  

  The BJS web site contains data on crime and victims, law enforcement, prosecution, criminal offenders, and corrections. Additionally, the Publications menu features full-text publications about drugs, gun use in crime, capital punishment, and more.
• U.S. Bureau of Data Statistics. "All Data Collections."  

  Contains data to the following: crime trends from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, homicide trends and characteristics by state and local agencies, law enforcement management, and administrative statistics.
• Drugs and Crime Facts  

  A summary of U.S. statistics concerning drug-related crimes, law enforcement, courts, and corrections from Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and non-BJS sources.
• Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)  

  According to its website, "UCR is a city, county, and state law enforcement program which provides a nationwide view of crime based on the submission of statistics by law enforcement agencies throughout the country."
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics  

  The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics brings together data from more than 100 sources about many aspects of criminal justice in the United States. These data are displayed in over 600 tables.
• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data  

  Research data available from ICPSR, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and National Institute of Justice.
• Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center (FJSRC)  

  The FJSRC maintains the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) database, which contains information about suspects and defendants processed in the Federal criminal justice system.
• United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems  

  Collects data on the incidence of reported crime and the operations of criminal justice systems with a view to improving the analysis and dissemination of that information globally.
• Campus Security Statistics  

  The OPE Campus Security Statistics Website, from the U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Post Secondary Education, provides statistics on reported criminal offenses for over 6000 colleges and universities in the United States.
• Death Penalty Statistics  

  Federal and state statistics and polls (from Justice Center Web Site, University of Alaska).