LibGuides: Social & Behavioral Sciences: Find Web Sources

Socia & Behavioral Sciences Internet Resources

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
"The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice." The group publishes a newsletter and provides links to useful criminal justice Web sites.
American Board of Criminalistics
This site includes career information, a searchable index to the Journal of Forensic sciences , forensic links and job opportunities.
Bureau of Justice Assistance
"BJA supports law enforcement, courts, corrections, treatment, victim services, technology, and prevention initiatives that strengthen the nation’s criminal justice system. BJA provides leadership, services, and funding to America’s communities."
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Official government source for statistics on the justice system, including crime and victims, drugs and crime, criminal offenders, law enforcement, prosecution, courts and sentencing, corrections, etc.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports
Information collected from approximately 17,000 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Characteristics, elements, volume, diversity and complexity of reported crime.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
Sponsored by a number of government agencies to preserve and share data resources. Categorized by subject. Allows keyword searches.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Established in 1972, NCJRS is a federally funded resource "offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide" with links to resources on such topics as Corrections, Courts, Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice
United States Department of Justice
The world's largest law office and the central agency for enforcement of federal laws.
United States Sentencing Commission
An independent agency in the Judicial Branch of government. Serves as an information resource for Congress, focusing on sentencing policies and guidelines. Has links to statistics and commissions by state.

American Political Science Association (APSA)
The American Political Science Association, founded in 1903, is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members in over 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe in order to expand awareness and understanding of politics.
The Council of State Governments
A non-partisan research group that advises all three branches of state governments on funding and policy issues. There are four main groups, and the Southern Legislative Conference is the one serving North Carolina.
OpenGovernment.org
A public resource for government transparency at the state, city, and local levels. Free and open-source.
OpenSecrets.org
The Center for Responsive Politics is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center, with its Open Secrets site, aims to create more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.
Policy Archive
Policy Archive is an open digital archive of foundation-funded and other public policy research.
State and Local Government Internet Directory
Provides access to the websites of state government agencies, and the city and county governments within each state. It is searchable by state or type of agency.
WWW Virtual Library: Political Science
Covers news groups, websites, journals, associations, etc.

All Psych Online
A virtual psychology classroom with online texts, news, and other information.
American Psychiatric Association
A medical specialty society with over 38,000 member physicians working to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorder, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders.
American Psychological Association: Psychology Topics
Background and other information on popular psychology topics and disorders from the leading professional psychological association.
Association for Psychological Science
A nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology and its representation at the national and international level.
Cognitive Science Society
Brings together researchers from many fields, including cognitive science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and education, who seek to understand the nature of the human mind.
National Institutes of Mental Health
Includes information on specific mental disorders, their diagnosis, and treatment.
Social Psychology Network
Founded by Dr. Scott Plous in 1996, the Social Psychology Network seeks to promote peace, social justice, and sustainable living through public education, research, and the advancement of psychology.

American Sociological Association
A non-profit membership association dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good.
American Sociological Association: Research on Sociology
ASA Department of Research on the Discipline and Profession. Contains Current Projects, Briefs and Articles, Trends in Sociology, Sociology Job Market, Project Funding, and Survey Templates
Department of State: Human Rights
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, and HRC envisions an America where LGBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
International Sociological Association
ISA is a non-profit association for scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences founded in 1949 under the auspices of UNESCO. The goal of the ISA, is to represent sociologists everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches or ideological opinion, and to advance sociological knowledge throughout the world. Its members come from 109 countries.
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is an independent nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of social science research and scholarship. The Council has a mission to lead innovation in the social sciences, build interdisciplinary and international networks, mobilize knowledge on important public issues, and educate and train the next generation of social science researchers.
The SocioLog
Listings of university sociology departments, professional associations, and research institutes.
SocioSite
Links to sociology sites, organized by topic, including sites on specific sociologists. Maintained inthe Netherlands, this site incorporates a European perspective.

Data.Census.gov
Data.census.gov is the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. The vision for data dissemination through data.census.gov is to improve the customer experience by making data available from one centralized place so that data users spend less time searching for data content and more time using it.
Data.gov
Data.gov is a U.S. government website launched in late May 2009 by the then Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the United States, Vivek Kundra. Data.gov aims to improve public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.
Statista
The world's largest statistical portal focused on businesses, industries, and media. Also includes infographics and charts.

***Please make sure you do not pay for anything - just use free services.
U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of data about the nation's people and economy.
World Factbook (CIA)
"Contains overviews of each country in the world, including brief data on geography, people, government, economy, membership in international organizations, communications, and defense forces. Maps and flags may be viewed in various formats."

Type your keywords into Google and add the site: command, leaving a space between your words and the command. This will allow you to limit your web search to a specific domain. Only one domain can be searched at a time.

Copy and paste a command below to give it a try:

site:.edu
site:.gov
site:.org

Use the CRAAP Test to Evaluate Web Sources

This test takes you through a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Keep in mind, the different quality measures will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

Currency: How old is this information?

When was the information published or posted?
Has the information been revised or updated?
Does your topic require current information?
Are the links on the site functional?

Relevance: Does this information help me finish my assignment?

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
Who is the intended audience?
Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too easy or advanced for your needs)?
Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is the one you will use?

Authority: Is whoever created this an expert on the subject?

Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
Does the URL (.edu/.gov/.com) reveal anything about the author or source?

Accuracy: How much can I trust this information?

Where does the information come from?
Is the information supported by evidence?
Has the information been reviewed or verified by someone other than the author?
Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
Are there spelling, grammar, or typing errors?

Purpose: Why was this information created?

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain, persuade?
Is the information factual, opinion, or propaganda?
Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?