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Criminology

Major research projects are easier to tackle if you break them up into steps (like those suggested below) and give each step a mini deadline. This way, the big deadline doesn't creep up on you. Try an assignment calculator if you are having trouble setting your own deadlines: https://calculator.lib.sfu.ca/

The Research Process: Step 1 - Define your topic; Step 2 - Narrow the topic; Step 3 - Gather background information; Step 4 - Create a research question; Step 5 - Develop a working thesis statement; Step 6 - Find and evaluate information; Step 7 - Cite sources; Step 8 - Write the paper

Selecting and Using Keywords 

Topic & Keywords

First, identify the key terms in your research topic or question: Is restorative justice an effective method for rehabilitation?

Then, brainstorm synonyms for the keywords or phrases that can be used in a search engine:

Other phrases that you could use for "restorative justice" could be "community justice", "transformative justice", "reparative justice", or "circle justice".

Another keyword or phrase that you could use for rehabilitation could be "social reintegration".

Only use words that add value to the search (don't type in full phrases or questions that include words like "are" or "the").

Search tips:

  • “Truncating” words can help expand your search. Place an asterisk at the end of the root of the word so that the search engine will retrieve documents that contain any words that begin with that spelling:  crim* will find crime + criminal + criminology + any plural forms
  • "Phrase searching" is when you place multi-word concepts, such as “criminal justice system”, within quotation marks to search the words as one phrase
  • You can use three words called Boolean Operators to connect or exclude your keywords: AND, OR, NOT

Different search engines have different rules for how operators are used in their searches. The tips here work in OCtopus and some other database's search engines. Check the help section of the database for more information. Here are the search tips for QuickLaw.

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