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CRJ/SOC 465/565: Deviant Behavior & Social Disorganization

Research Guide for CRJ/SOC 465/565

Access Library Resources Online

Trying to access library resources online? Follow the instructions on the Online Access to Library Resources page to access library databases, articles, and ebooks, both on-campus and off-campus.

Mardigian Search (searches all the library's databases at once)

Advanced Search

Search FAQs

Check out the library's self-paced tutorial How do I search library databases? to learn the basics of database searches.

1. What is Mardigian Search and why should I use it?

  • Mardigian Search is the library's Discovery search box, which looks through all of the library's databases at once.
  • Mardigian Search is great for:
    • finding out what's been studied in your research area
    • finding sources about interdisciplinary topics

2. How do I search for scholarly articles about my research topic?

  • Identify the keywords (main ideas) of your topic and use those as your search words. 
  • Each article has tags assigned to it, words or shorts phrases that make each article searchable
    • You want your search words to match those tags
    • Words like impact, effect, or factors are not used as tags

3. I'm looking for a specific article or book. How do I find out if the library has it?

  • Enter the title into the search box, removing all punctuation

4. How do I focus my search results to sources that meet my assignment requirements? 

  • Use Refine Your Search options to focus your hits so they're more relevant to your assignment needs
  • Peer-reviewed articles:
    • Check Peer Review 
    • Check Journal article under Content Type
  • Current/Recent articles:
    • Under Publication Date, click on last 10 years
  • To articles relevant to Criminology and Sociology
    • Under Discipline, check Law and Sociology and Social History 

5. I have too many search results. How do I focus my search results so that they're more relevant to my research interests?

  • Under Subject Terms, check the boxes beside the subjects that interest you to focus your search results to your specific research areas of interest
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags (subjects) 
    • Click on Quick Look below the article title
    • Look at its assigned Subjects/tags 
    • Add any relevant tags (words) to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research topics and search for books and articles for them

6. How do I preview the abstract/summary of articles in the list of search hits?

  • Click on Quick Look below the article title

7. How do I access the article so I can read the whole thing?

  • Click on Full Text Online
  • Look for pdf Full Text or HTML Full Text link

8. How do I find articles that have cited an article I find in Mardigian Search?

  • Web of Science
    • Look for the Web of Science: [number] box to the right of your search hits - click on the number to get a list of articles that have cited your article ​
    • If you don't see the Times Cited number, you need to connect to UM-Dearborn VPN. Follow the ITS VPN Setup Instructions to install VPN and go to the ITS VPN Troubleshooting page if you have any trouble installing or using VPN. 
  • To read the articles you identified as relevant in Web of Science:
    • Enter the target article title in the above Mardigian Search box
    • Click on the Full Text Online link or or the article title to access the full text of the article from the list of search hits

9. I can't find anything on my topic. What do I do?

  • The search words you're using to describe your topic may not match the tags that have been assigned to books and articles on that topic
    • Look through the Subject terms in the Refine Your Search sidebar and check the boxes beside the topic areas that interest you
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags/subjects
    • Add any relevant tags to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research questions and search for articles about your specific research questions 
  • There may not be research tying your main ideas together yet
    • Try searching for your main ideas separately and linking their findings together
  • If you've found one article that's relevant for your topic, look through the sources in its References list to see if any of them are also relevant to your research
  • Ask your professor or the Criminology & Criminal Justice and Sociology librarian, Nadine Anderson, for help
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