LibrarySearch is CCCU’s library discovery tool and a key resource for you. It allows you to easily search across library resources, including books, e-books and journal articles. Many of the resources available via Library Search are not freely available on the web, and rather than worrying about paywalls, it automatically limits your search to full-text. Remember to sign in to access all the resources.

Google Scholar is also an excellent resource. It can be used to search for scholarly information on the internet, including ebooks, journal articles and conference papers. It can also be linked to library holdings, showing you where CCCU has paid for access to a resource and allowing you to link through.

Searching LibrarySearch alongside Google Scholar for your assignment topics is a good place to start.

You can also access databases individually for more in-depth searching or for specific types of resources such as statistics, reports or documentaries (please see under Databases below for some recommendations)

You can use LibrarySearch to search for the books you need. Just type in a few words from the title plus the surname of the author(s) into the search box. If you get stuck – please ask!

We use the Dewey Decimal System to classify the books so it’s easier to find them. Each number refers to a different subject area. In Augustine House, the lowest numbers are on the first floor and the highest numbers are on the third floor.

You will find the majority of the Forensic Investigation book collection at classmark 363-364 (on the 2^nd floor at Augustine House):

• 345 – Criminal Law
• 363.2 – Police services
• 363.25 – Forensic Science/Crime detection
• 363.2562 – Physical evidence
• 363.3765 – Fire investigation
• 364 – Criminology/Crime prevention
• 364.072 – Criminological research
• 364.168 – Computer Forensics/Cybercrime
• 364.3 – Criminal psychology
• 614.12 – Forensic chemistry
• 614.13 – Forensic toxicology

Remember to check the different areas housing the 7-day loan (open shelves) and 4-week loans (moving shelves).

The library also has thousands of e-books. To search for e-books in LibrarySearch, limit your results in the left-hand pane of the search screen to e-books and click on the link to CCCU e-book to download or read online.

You can browse printed copies of journals on the 2nd floor of Augustine House in the silent zone (west wing). These are for use in the library only.

All of the Forensic Investigation journals below are available online:

• British Journal of Forensic Practice
• Digital Investigation
• Forensic and Legal Medicine
• Forensic Science International
• Forensic Sciences Research
• Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology
• Journal of Forensic Practice
• Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice
• Journal of Forensic Sciences
• Journal of Law and Society
• Science and Justice

You can see which journals are available online by using LibrarySearch. Make sure you log in first! (You will need your university username and password).Try entering the title of a journal into the search box or using the “Find e-journals by title” link.

You can also browse e-journals by subject, using Browzine. This software allows you to read a journal like an e-book, so you can look through the whole journal rather than just individual articles. There is an app so you can use it easily on your phone or other mobile device.

You can find individual journal articles to read online by doing a quick search in LibrarySearch. Try searching for a key word or phrase connected with your research topic, e.g. “crime scene investigation”. See our quick guide for more information.

There are lots of databases that contain articles about forensic investigation, and they are all available via LibrarySearch – just click on the “Find databases” link in the left-hand menu and you will see an alphabetical list. Browse the list until you find the one you want.

The most useful databases for your subject include:

Embase (Ovid) A major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing over 3,500 international journals in the following fields: drug research, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, public health, occupational health, environmental health, drug dependence and abuse, psychiatry, forensic medicine, and biomedical engineering/instrumentation.

Knovel. Contains material property search. You can search for a material or substance; properties or a combination of both.

Lexis+UK: An excellent resource for legal information including Acts of Parliament, Statutory Instruments and case law. LexisLibrary also indexes a number of legal journals containing articles about criminal justice and the legal system and procedure and Halsbury’s Laws.

LexisLibrary Newspapers UK: Online access to all national and regional newspapers covering the last twenty years.

PubMed A free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature. It contains more than 35 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature published in the United States and 80 other countries. It does not include full text journal articles; however, links to the full text are often present when available from other sources.

MEDLINE (Ovid) MEDLINE is widely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. MEDLINE encompasses information in the areas of allied health, biological and physical sciences, humanities and information science as they relate to medicine and health care, communication disorders, population biology, and reproductive biology (Guide to Medline)

SAGE Journals: Contains full-text articles from over 1,000 journals across all disciplines, including forensic investigation, policing, law, criminology and criminal justice.

ScienceDirect: Full-text journal database from Elsevier. Includes many useful articles on forensic investigation.

SpringerProtocols The world’s largest database of life sciences protocols. These ‘recipes’ allow scientists to recreate experiments in their own laboratories. Contains material related to forensics.

Taylor and Francis Online Journals: Large multi-disciplinary database providing full-text access to Taylor and Francis and Routledge journals from 1997 onwards.

Westlaw UK: An excellent resource for legal information including Acts of Parliament, Statutory Instruments and case law. Westlaw UK also indexes a number of legal journals containing articles about criminal justice and the legal system and procedure.

Wiley Online Library Access journals, reference works and current protocols covering a range of scientific, medical, technical and professional disciplines.

There are a lot of brilliant websites that may be relevant to your studies, but there are also many that are not, so it is essential to evaluate the material carefully to decide whether they are scholarly enough.

The following websites are a good starting point:

The purpose of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences is “to encourage study, improve practice, disseminate information, and advance knowledge in Forensic Science and Forensic Medicine for public benefit.” Contains careers advice, conferences, journals, publications and useful links.

The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS) is the Professional body representing Forensic Sciences worldwide.

The Crown Prosecution Service is an independent body that prosecutes criminal cases previously investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and Wales.

The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) aims to facilitate the sharing and mutual exchange of information in the field of forensic science. Check out their Forensic Guidelines documents.

Europol is the EU’s law enforcement agency, whose main aim is to achieve a safer Europe for the benefit of all EU citizens.

International Association for Identification The oldest and largest forensic association in the world. This professional forensic association represents a diverse, knowledgeable and experienced membership that are assembled to educate, share, critique and publish methods, techniques and research in the physical forensic science disciplines.

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 192 member countries. They enable police around the world to work together with the aim of making the world a safer place.

Medical Research Council Funds research into improving human health, from lab-based science to clinical trials, working closely with the NHS and the UK Health Departments.

TIAFT: The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists Promotes cooperation, coordination of efforts and research in forensic toxicology.

Archival Sound Recordings: Listen to a selection from the British Library’s extensive collections of unique sound recordings, which come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound. Includes oral histories.

BFI Player: Explore and view short films and features, showing the best from the BFI, national and regional archives, including 120 years of Britain on film, offering a unique window on Britain’s changing political, economic and social landscape in the age of film and television.

Box of Broadcasts: On-demand TV and radio service for education. Allows staff and students to record programmes and create clips from over 60 free-to-air channels, both TV and radio, and search an archive of over 2 million broadcasts. If you’ve seen or heard something on TV or radio that you think would be useful to your learning or teaching, there’s a good chance you can access it via B.o.B. Access within the UK only (Guide to B.o.B)

EU Screen Portal: Offers free access to thousands of archival audio-visual items from across Europe, bringing together clips that provide an insight into the social, cultural, political, and economic events that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries.

Kanopy Access to a large, curated catalogue of over 30,000 educational documentaries and classic films. A wide range of subject coverage (e.g. Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, Health and Sciences). Watch anytime, anywhere and on any device including via media streaming apps.