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Criminology

CRIM 3111 Library Workshop

This guide lists resources used in a library research workshop by Caja Blomley for students in CRIM 3111 (Contemporary Sociological Criminology) taught by Mark Vardy in summer 2024.

Guide created by Chris Burns, Criminology Liaison Librarian

This library workshop is designed to support your work on the class project. Our main focus will be on learning how to use citation trails to track a "scholarly conversation" and how to create a citation map. The workshop will be roughly 2 hours with a group activity. There will be a 15-minute break in the middle of the workshop. 

How the library workshop will help you with your class project

Class project component

Library workshop + other support
1. Research question

We won't go into how to develop a research question in this workshop. You have probably learned this in other courses. The pre-workshop tutorial on How to Choose an Appropriate Topic was designed to refresh your memory.

If you'd like to learn more about this important skill, please see:

  1.  CRIM 1208 research guide: provides a quick overview
  2.  CRIM 1100 research guide: more in-depth help; walks you through how to go from a broad topic to a much more focused one.

You may find it especially helpful to look at these scholarly encyclopedias about criminological theories to get a broad understanding of the history of major sociological theories, ideas for narrowing your topic, and references to important sources:
2. Annotated bibliography in APA Style
  • must include six academic sources, meaning:
    • peer-reviewed journals or
    • book chapters published by a university press
  • at least three of the academic sources must be published in 2021 or later.

We won't be discussing how to write an annotated bibliography, but you will find links to some useful sources about annotated bibliographies on this guide. For help with writing, please book an in-person or online appointment with a tutor at the Learning Centre.

We are assuming that you already know how to identify peer-reviewed journal articles and use APA Style. The pre-workshop tutorial What are Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journal Articles? was designed to refresh your memory. We'll also do a quick check at the start of the workshop.

You will find some help with citing scholarly journal articles and book chapters in APA style on this guide.

We will be looking at several tools that let you locate peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly book chapters which also let you filter or sort your search results by publication date.
3. Citation map
  • shows how the six sources are connected to each other AND
    • how they are connected to at least one of the assigned readings OR
    • how they are connected to another text that is written by the author of one of the assigned readings  

Citation mapping is the focus of our workshop today. We hope you will learn:

  • that research is a “scholarly conversation”
  • that citation trails or chains are evidence of a scholarly conversation
  • how to locate cited and citing sources using several different tools: Summon, library databases, and Google Scholar
  • how to create your own citation map

Before the workshop, you will have completed these two 15-minute tutorials to refresh your understanding:

  1. How to Choose an Appropriate Topic
    • for more info on this, please see this CRIM 1100 research guide which walks you through how to go from a broad topic to a much more focused one
  2. What are Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journal Articles?
    • for more info on peer-reviewed journal articles, please see the Journal Articles section of the Criminology research guide
Before the class, you completed a library tutorial on "What Are Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journal Articles?". Please answer the poll question below to check your understanding.

Instructions for the poll question below:

  1. Click on each link (e.g. Article 1) to view the description for that article.
  2. Scan each article to see if it has the characteristics of a peer-reviewed journal article.
  3. Click in the radio button (circle) for the correct answer to "Which of these items is a peer-reviewed article?". 
  4. Click "Submit" button to cast your vote.
Please only vote ONCE. We'll review the poll results to see if we need to spend class time refreshing your understanding of these types of articles.

Which of these items is a peer-reviewed journal article?

Article 1: 5 votes (5.75%)
Article 2: 64 votes (73.56%)
Article 3: 3 votes (3.45%)
all: 2 votes (2.3%)
Both Article 2 and 3: 13 votes (14.94%)
none: 0 votes (0%)
Total Votes: 87

Research as conversation

VIDEO: Research is a Conversation (3:28)

"Academic research can be difficult, but you're not alone! Research is a conversation between many different 'voices' that each contribute a unique perspective on a topic. There are many ways that you can use that conversation to help improve your understanding of a topic and discover what you have to say about it." Video created by Oklahoma State University Libraries.

Citation mapping, Part 1: Concepts

Citation mapping

"Citation mapping" goes by many names*, but they all refer to the process of tracing who has cited whom. Citation maps create a snapshot of a scholarly conversation.

word cloud of synonyms for citation map, includes: graph, network, chain, and trail

Image created using Wordcloud.com

*Other terms include 360-degree searching and bibliographic analysis.

 

Why Can It be Useful?

The University of Prince Edward Island's Library provides this list of reasons you might want to create a citation map:

  • if the reference you began with was highly relevant to your research, then it's likely that other publications which have cited that item will also be relevant to your research
  • to track the development of a theory over a period of years
  • to identify core researchers in a field
  • to understand the impact of a work

"Seed" article:

To create a citation map, start with one relevant book or article and then trace which sources its authors used (CITED references) and who else has subsequently used their work (CITING references). You're starting at a specific point in the "scholarly conversation", and then learning about where it came from and where it has gone since. 

Another way to think about a citation map is like a tree. You start with a "seed" and then trace the roots and branches. We will use this seed article to get started:

Fraser, A., & Hagedorn, J. M. (2018). Gangs and a global sociological imagination. Theoretical Criminology, 22(1), 42–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480616659129

The publisher's website says that this article was "first published online August 4, 2016", but that is NOT the official publication date that you would use to cite it. When you click on the "cite article" option you will see that the official publication date is 2018, in volume 22, issue 1.

Articles are usually published on the journal’s website long before they are officially published in the print journal. Always use the official publication date, if available. If an article has not yet been officially published (and assigned its volume, issue, and page numbers), use the APA citation format for an “advance online publication” based on the online publication date.

screenshot of Sage publisher's webpage for article by Fraser & Hagedorn (2018) showing the online publication date is not the same as the official publication date

screenshot of article text showing that Mills' ideas are discussed

screenshot of using Control-F keys to bring up Find box to search for a keyword or name

screenshot of book by Mills in References list for article, with option to view each citation in context

use Contents option in menu bar to quickly navigate to References section

labelled arrows show relationship between a cited source and a citing source

Finding cited sources using Summon:

Many databases include tools to help you more quickly view the sources that a seed article has cited. We'll use Summon -- the library's all-in-one search tool -- to demonstrate this. 

To get started:

Open this Summon link for the Fraser & Hagedorn (2018) seed article in a new tab or window: https://go.exlibris.link/qG20hrlM

More info on Summon's Citation Trail feature.

Finding citing sources using Summon:

Now we want to know if other authors have continued this scholarly conversation and have cited the Fraser & Hagedorn (2018) article in their reference lists.  We're going to use Summon again with the same seed article to demonstrate this.

To get started:

Open this Summon link for the Fraser & Hagedorn (2018) seed article in a new tab or window: https://go.exlibris.link/qG20hrlM

screenshot of Summon "Cited By" option for an article

screenshot of Summon "Cited By" search results for an article

screenshot of Summon results for sources citing a cited source

screenshot of Summon results for sources citing a cited source

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screenshot of Summon results after backtracking to sources that cited 2018 Fraser & Hagedorn article

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screenshot of Summon sources cited by Weaver & Fraser (2022) article

 

Updated citation map showing 2 new sources we've found

 

updated citation map showing newly-found sources

Citation mapping, Part 2: Online tools

See if you can find the exact class reading in Summon. If you do, then look for the "Cites" and/or "Cited by" links to start you on the citation trail.

screenshot of Summon search for specific source by author and title

Warning: This usually works better for journal articles than for books.

screenshot of Summon search for C Wright Mills Sociological Imagination

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Tips

  • If you don’t find any matches using the author’s full name, try just their surname
  • If you find too many matches, put the title in double quotation marks to force an exact match, e.g. “Sociological imagination”
  • Use the Advanced Search screen (under Options) to specify where Summon should search for this info

screenshot of Summon's Options button to open Advanced Search screen

screenshot of Summon's Advanced Search screen

screenshot of ways to narrow Summon search by keyword, date and topic

Other Tools:

So far, we have used Summon -- the library's "all-in-one" discovery tool -- to explore cited and citing references. 

Many library databases have built-in tools to help you find citing articles. Other non-library tools can also be useful. These tools may use different terms (e.g  "Cited by" or "Citing" or "Times cited in this database") and the functions may be a bit hidden, but it's worth looking for them. 

The University of Prince Edward Island Library has a very handy guide to Cited Reference Searching which lists the features of many different tools. Click on the drop-down options below to learn more about a few library tools. We've included publishers' websites here because you usually need a subscription to use the advanced features. 

We''ll look at some free tools on the next tab. for "Open Access Tools".

Google Scholar

  • an excellent free tool which allows you to check for CITING references, using the "Cited by" link in your search results.
  • not useful for finding CITED sources
  • you can search by keywords or names, as well as by DOI
  • start by looking up a "seed" source, e.g. one of your course readings
  • for DOI searches
    • DO enter the actual DOI code, e.g. 10.1002/9781119011385.ch5
    • DO NOT enter the DOI link, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011385.ch5

    • How to look up a "seed" source in Google Scholar

  • for title searches
    • try first by putting title in double-quotes; if your source doesn’t appear in top 10 results, try searching without the quotes
    • Note that different editions of classic books are typically published many different times, sometimes with new additional material. Google Scholar tries to consolidate these all into one matching result. You might see a book with the right author and titles, but a different date or publisher. Choose the first match for your book author and title.

    • screenshot of Google Scholar search box

    _______________________________________

    View citing references using the "Cited by" link

  • to see a list of sources which have cited a publication, click on the "Cited by" link under the short description

    • screenshot of Google Scholar search results

    _______________________________________

    Search within the citing references

  • once you are looking at the sources that have cited your "seed" publication, you can “search within citing articles” to narrow your search further. You can:
    • Add keywords, e.g. GANGS CANADA
    • Set a custom date range, e.g. 2021-2024

    screenshot of Google Scholar option to search within citing references and filter by date

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    Change Google Scholar settings to search KPU Library holdings and link to full text, when available

  • Note links to “Full Text at KPU” for some results. You can set this up in the Settings

    • screenshot of Google Scholar filtered search results

    _______________________________________

    screenshot of Google Scholar library links settings

    _______________________________________

    Use Advanced Search screen in Google Scholar

    screenshot of Google Scholar Advanced Search option under Settings menu

  • If still not appearing in first 10 results, try using Google Scholar Advanced Search screen

    • _______________________________________

    screenshot of Google Scholar advanced search box

     

Dimensions

  • a free tool, but you do need to create an account if you wish to use it.
  • search for:
    • a specific DOI code: the fastest and most precise option, or
    • keywords/names, either in the full-text of a document, or just the Title and Abstract
  • for DOI searches, you can enter either:
    • the DOI URL (with https://doi.org prefix): e.g. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011385.ch5, or
    • a specific DOI code: 10.1002/9781119011385.ch5

screenshot of Dimensions search by DOI

screenshot of Dimensions search by keyword

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screenshot of Dimensions results from DOI search for 2017 book chapter by Lynch

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Dimensions "Badge": dashboard display of metrics for 2017 book chapter by Lynch

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screenshot of detailed metrics in Dimensions for 2017 book chapter by Lynch showing cited and citing references

Open Citations

  • free tool that uses DOIs to link a publication to its cited and citing sources (mostly articles)
  • only works with DOI's; you cannot search by author or title
    • DO enter the actual DOI code, e.g. 10.1002/9781119011385.ch5
    • DO NOT enter the DOI link, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011385.ch5
  • enter your DOI, then choose whether you want to retrieve:
    • REFERENCES: cited sources, or
    • CITATIONS:citing sources
screenshot of Open Citations search for cited references

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screenshot of Open Citations search for citing sources

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screenshot of Open Citations search results for sources citing article by Shammas & Sandberg (2015)

Group Exercise

Now *you* try it!

Step 1: Get your group organized

  • Form a team with 2 other students; each group will have 3 members. 

  • Find your group’s slides in the Google Slides deck. Each group has two slides:

    • one slide with a blank citation map that they will fill out, followed by

    • a slide for APA-formatted references for the sources in their citation map.  

Step 2: Find Source A

  • Start with this “seed” source: 

    • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. University of California Press.*

  • Use Google Scholar to find a book chapter or peer-reviewed journal article that cites the book by Hirschi and relates to the topic of racial discrimination involving girls.

  • Enter an in-text citation for this citing source into the “Source A” box in the citation map on your slide.

  • Download a computer-generated APA-formatted citation and add it to your References slide.

Step 3: Find Source B

  • Use Summon to find a book chapter or peer-reviewed journal article cited by Source A that relates to racial discrimination involving girls.

  • Enter an in-text citation for this cited source into the “Source B” box in the citation map on your slide.

  • Download a computer-generated APA-formatted citation (if you can) and add it to your References slide.

Step 4: Find Source C

  • Use your assigned research tool to find a book chapter or peer-reviewed journal article cited by Source B that relates to racial discrimination involving girls and was published in or after 2021.

  • Enter an in-text citation for this cited source into the “Source C” box in the citation map on your slide

  • Download a computer-generated APA-formatted citation (if you can) and add it to your References slide.

Step 5: Check your APA-formatted references

  • Proofread the APA-formatted references you downloaded, using the examples in the APA section on the library guide.

  • Don't worry about double-spacing or the hanging indent. There won't be room for this on your slide.

Annotated Bibliography Resources

If you would like help learning how to create an annotated bibliography, please visit the KPU Learning Centre in person or online.

APA citation

Why cite?

Citing your sources properly shows that you have done your research and consulted appropriate sources for your topic. It also acknowledges that all research builds on work that has come before. You are giving credit to sources that have influenced or informed your work. If you do not do this, you are essentially stealing another person's ideas, which is called plagiarism.

How to cite?

Whenever you use another person's ideas (even if you put this into your own words), you must give them credit. You do this by CITING the source you used in two places:

  1. First, you give a brief in-text citation right in (or after) the sentence where you mention the idea or words.

  2. Then, you provide a detailed reference at the end of your document so that whoever reads it will be able to locate the exact source you used. 
    • note: the exact formatting of a reference will depend on the type of information source you are citing, but every reference should tell the reader:
      • WHO created the work,
      • WHEN it was created,
      • WHAT the work is called, and
      • WHERE it can be found. 

Citing a scholarly journal article

Video tutorial on APA references for journal articles

Video credit: Western Sydney University Library. (2020). APA style, 7th edition: Referencing an online journal article [Videorecording]. https://youtu.be/Ntxyx2WhEHU

Examples of APA references for journal articles

3 APA citations for journals articles: 1) standard, 2) no DOI but freely-available online, 3) no DOI and not freely-available online

Journal article, advance online publication 

Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/xxx

  • In-text citation: (Author & Author, year, p. X)

[With thanks to Royal Roads University Library for this template.]

Citation for a print-format book:

APA citation for print book

Citation for a book chapter in a print-format book:

APA citation for print book chapter

Notes:

  • The authors of the CHAPTER are listed first, followed by the title of the chapter.
  • For the editors of the BOOK, their initials come before their surnames, which is the opposite of the order for the chapter authors.

 

In-text Citations

Citation Generators

Most library research databases have built-in citation generators. These are handy tools to create a rough citation, but you ALWAYS need to double-check them. Here is an example from Summon:

Practice citing scholarly article in APA style:

 

Example of incorrect APA citation from Criminal Justice Abstracts database with corrected version of citation:

screenshot of incorrect APA citation from a database with corrected version

 
Text version of incorrect and corrected citations:

Incorrect

David, J.-D., & Mitchell, M. (2021). Contacts with the Police and the Over-Representation of Indigenous Peoples in The Canadian Criminal Justice System. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 63(2), 23–45. https://doi-org.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2443/10.3138/cjccj.2020-0004

Correct

David, J.-D., & Mitchell, M. (2021). Contacts with the police and the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the Canadian criminal justice system. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 63(2), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2020-0004