Research Guides: Criminal Justice and Criminology: Find Lit Reviews

Annual Reviews

Annual Reviews provide thorough, authoritative reviews of recent journal literature in a specific science or social science discipline, and on current topics of interest in that field of study. These are useful to ground your understanding of a topic in the most current and impactful scholarship, and to get ideas for further reading and research.

Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Provides a synthesis of the most significant primary research literature yearly in selected fields.

Other Surveys of Literature

Sage Navigators:

• topic guides written by a leading academic in the field

• lists of recommended readings with abstracts or extracts

• chronologies visualizing the development of research over time

Reference Sources

Use encyclopedias , handbooks, and dictionaries for definitions of concepts and ideas, and for overviews on major topics.

SAGE Knowledge: Books, Reference, CQ Press This link opens in a new window
Collection of reference works and monographs covering multiple subjects, with a focus on the social sciences. Also includes works from CQ Press.

Example of finding reference sources on a topic using the advanced search screen in Sage Knowledge:

Click on Advanced Search.
Enter words related to the topic in the search terms box.
Select Criminology and Criminal Justice from the Disciplines menu.
Select "all references" from the Content Type: References menu.
Submit the search.