Criminal Justice140

This guide will help you with your research for your CJS140 serial killer research paper.

The library is here to help you along the way! If you have a research question, use the Get Help from a Librarian tab to start a chat or schedule a research appointment.

Any time you're doing research, please be sure to read your assignment carefully so you find the types of sources your instructor requires. Check with your instructor if you have questions about your assignment.

What Is Your Information Need?

As with any research project, the first step is to identify the kind of information you need. Knowing what kind of information you need will help you plan your research, use the right search tools, and locate relevant sources.

Information need: Find sources to address the pieces of information you need to include in your paper about your serial killer:

• Background/history of the case
• Victimology
• Killer's background/childhood
• Modus Operandi
• What criminological theory of crime causation applies?

Search Tools

Where are you most likely to find the information you need?

Search Engines (internet browser like Google): Popular sources like news and magazine articles, government sources like FBI.gov, primary sources. Sources may be behind a paywall, including sources from Google Scholar.

Library Databases: Scholarly sources, popular sources like news and magazine articles, reference sources, biographies, primary sources. Full text is available for thousands of database sources.