Academic Journals

One most important sources of information for your studies is academic journals. These are publications consisting of articles focused on specific crime and justice issues, usually produced on the back of research studies, or the bringing together of ideas. Traditionally, these were accessed as paper copies through libraries, but increasingly universities and colleges subscribe to electronic access to them. For some, they are open access for anyone to access, but others will require you go through your institution’s library network (using a library search function).

The British Journal of Criminology at https://academic.oup.com/bjc is a key example and others also such as Theoretical Criminology at https://journals.sagepub.com/home/tcr and Criminology and Criminal Justice at https://journals.sagepub.com/home/crj. There are also a range of specialised journals focused on areas such as cybercrime, gender and crime, human rights, policing and so on, Thus, you should also consider such specialised journals if you are researching a specific topic. Do also consider examples from other countries, especially the United States. Details of criminology journals can be found via your institution’s library, and often they have collections of journals together related to your subject area (Criminology) on their site.

Some journals can seem daunting because of the specialised language papers within them often use, and the complexity of the ideas explored. The more you become familiar with Criminology and your topics within it, the easier this will all become. However, when setting out in your studies shorter and more accessible journals such as Criminal Justice Matters at https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm are a fantastic source – although unfortunately that particular journal no longer publishes new papers, but it is still useful for covering topics historically, and for getting background on your topic. Also, the commentary section on Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/comment will offer a useful entry point for you.