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Reference Collection
Government Documents
Journals
Subscription Databases
Freely Available Internet Indexes and Full Text Articles
Internet Sources
The Marvin K. Peterson Library offers print and online sources for the forensic sciences, which you may find by using the online catalog, electronic or paper journals, bibliographies, and encyclopedia collections.
This guide is a selective bibliography of resources, both ours and useful Internet sources we list. To complement your research, you might also consult the library's other guides in the related fields of biology, chemistry, criminal justice, dental hygiene, fire science, law, national security, and psychology. These are available online from the Library Guides link on our home page.
For an overview of research methods and library resources, try our interactive online Virtual Reference Tour.
The Library Catalog is on our home page. Choose the type of search you want by selecting from the options offered: keyword, subject, author, title, etc. Then place the cursor in the find this box and type in the words you want to search.
Some Library of Congress subject terms to search by: Crime laboratories; Crime scenes; Criminal investigation; DNA fingerprinting; Evidence, Criminal; Evidence, Expert; Forensic pathology; Forensic sciences; Homicide investigation; Medical examiners (LAW); Trace analysis.
If you want to perform a more complex search, click on Advanced Search to use multiple terms and phrases.
Try a Keyword Relevance Search if you are not sure of the Library of Congress subject heading that matches your topic. For example, the term criminalistics, while not an official Library of Congress heading, will find books when searched in keyword search mode.
If your search returns a list of items, click on the individual entries that interest you to find out more about their location and subject matter.
Some books and journals are available online from the catalog at the Linked Resources tab. For more on using our Library Catalog, consult our guide to Using the UNH Library Catalog and sharpen your skills with our interactive Online Library Catalog Tutorial.
The following is a selected list of reference and circulating materials pertinent to the forensic sciences. To obtain items that the library does not own, UNH students, faculty and staff can use our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. ILL request forms for books and articles are available at the library Information Desk, and online from the library's website.
Access Device Fraud and Related Financial Crimes.
HV6768 .I16 2000
Advances in Fingerprint Technology.
HV6074 .A43 2001
Biology Methods Manual.
Perm. Reserve RA1057 .B56
Blood Evidence: How DNA Is Revolutionizing the Way We Solve Crimes.
RA1057.55.L44 2003
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: With An Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction.
HV8077.5.B56 B48 2002
Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials.
QA76.9.A25 K78 2002
Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint the Time of Death.
RA1063.4.S23 2002
Cracking Cases: The Science of Solving Crimes.
HV8073 .L44 2002
Cracking more cases: The Forensic Science of Solving Crimes.
HV8079.H6 L44 2004
Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers.
HV8079.H6 B27 2002
Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences.
Ref. HV8073 .E58 2000
Ethics in Forensic Science: Professional Standards for the Practice of Criminalistics. HV8073 .B3557 2001
Every Contact Leaves a Trace.
Ref. HV8073 .E79 2000
Fingerprints: The Origins Of Crime Detection and the Murder Case That Launched Forensic Science. HV6074 .B34 2001
The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation.
HV8073 .G348 2002
Forensic DNA Typing: Biology & Technology Behind STR Markers.
RA1057.55.B88 2001
Forensic Examination of Glass and Paint: Analysis and Interpretation.
HV8077.5.G55 F67 2001
Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law.
KF8961 .K54 2001
Forensic Pathology.
RA1063.4.D5 2001
Forensic Psychology: From Classroom to Courtroom.
RA1148 .F558 2002
Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques.
HV8073 .F5835 2003
Forensic Science Handbook.
Perm. Reserve HV8073 .F585 2002
Forensic Science Laboratory Manual and Workbook.
HV8073 .K75 2005
The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics from CRC press.
Ref QD65 .C87 2002. Also available online from our list of databases.
Handbook of Forensic Drug Analysis.
Ref. RA1160 .H34 2005.
Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook.
Perm. Reserve HV8073 .L414 2001
An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis.
RA1057.55.I56 2002
Mute Witnesses: Trace Evidence Analysis.
HV8073 .M874 2001
Officer-Involved Shootings and Use of Force: Practical Investigative Techniques.
HV8031 .H38 2003
Physical Evidence in Forensic Science.
HV8073 .L39 2000. Also available on Permanent Reserve.
Practical Criminal Investigations in Correctional Facilities.
HV8073 .B427 2002
Principles and Practices of Criminalistics: The Profession of Forensic Science.
HV8073 .I443 2001
A Radiological Atlas of Abuse, Torture, Terrorism, and Inflicted Trauma.
Perm. Reserve RA1058.5.R336 2003
Rape Investigation Handbook.
Ref. HV8079.R35 R36 2005
Silent Witness.
GN69.8.F47 2002
Terrorism: An Investigator's Handbook.
HV6431 .D97 2001
Trace Evidence Analysis: More Cases in Mute Witnesses.
HV8073 .T63x 2004
As a federal documents depository, we currently receive about a third of U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) publications. These include periodicals, federal agency reports, Congressional hearings, the federal censuses, and much more. Most recent documents will be found in Library Catalog searches and are in physical formats like paper, microfiche, CD-ROM, etc. Many of these items in the library catalog may be online as well, so be sure to click on Linked Resources to check for electronic availability. For those [GovDocs] items that are not online, and for assistance of any kind with documents, come to the Information Desk. Read more in our Government Documents library guide.
Some titles you might find useful:Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator. 1999.
J 28.24/3:D 34/7
Education and Training in Forensic Science: A Guide for Forensic Science Laboratories, Educational Institutions, and Students. 2004.
J 28.15/2:2004023790
Eyewitness Evidence: A Trainer's Manual for Law Enforcement. 2003.
J 28.15/2:EY 3
Forensic Science Communications
J 28.15/2:EY 3
Handbook of Forensic Services
J 1.14/18-3:
Mass Fatality Incidents: A Guide for Human Forensic Identification. 2005.
J 28.15/2:F 76/2
Report to the Attorney General on Delays in Forensic DNA Analysis. 2003.
J 28.15/2:2004006751
Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations. 2002.
J 1.8/2:2003023412
Using DNA to Solve Cold Cases. 2002.
J 28.15/2:D 44
Popular and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers and some annual publications like yearbooks are called periodicals. Use the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page to find periodicals in all formats -- paper, microform and electronic. You can search by title, title keyword, or browse by subject. Periodicals are shelved by title, with initial articles ("a," "an," and "the") at the beginning of titles.
Paper journals are shelved on the lower level of the library; the Microform Collection is also on the lower level in the Microform Room; for print and fiche journals in the Government Documents collection, come to the Information Desk, or check the Linked Resources tab in our Library Catalog for online access. Electronic journals are accessible from any Internet terminal. Ask at the Information Desk for help locating the materials you need.
The following is a sampling of journals we have that cover topics in the forensic sciences. Check the Journals at the MKP Library link on our home page for the dates and locations of most of our journals.Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences
The CPTED Journal: the Journal of the International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Forensic Science
Forensic Science Abstracts
Forensic Science International
Forensic Science Review
International Journal of Legal Medicine
Journal / Canadian Society of Forensic Science
Journal / The Forensic Science Society
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Medicine, Science, and the Law
Science & Justice: Journal of the Forensic Science Society
Use the links on the library's home page for access. The Alphabetical List lets you select databases by title or provider, the Subject List allows topical access, and the Annotated List includes search tips, lists of publications, user's guides, tutorials, and links to each database. Entering your 16-digit UNH ID number once, when instructed, will open all library resources until you close the search window.
?For help in formulating search strategies, consult our Finding Articles guide and try our interactive online Database Searching Tutorial.
The following is a list of some specialized and multidisciplinary databases that include information of interest to students in the forensic sciences:A source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Contains extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, and medicine.
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature)Indexes publications in various health fields and provides mostly citations, with some abstracts dating back to 1982. CINAHL covers nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and allied health disciplines. However, citations and abstracts in this database will link to full text when available in any other EBSCOHost database to which we subscribe. Pre-CINAHL provides access to citations before they are indexed and added to the CINAHL database.
Criminal Justice Periodicals Index
Provides citations, abstracts and some full text articles, covering 1981-present. The database includes abstract and indexing for hundreds of titles, with many available in full-text.
FirstSearch
Offers a number of databases in all academic fields, including the forensic sciences, and provides access to citations, abstracts and some full text from English-language and international periodicals and dissertations. Access is limited to use within the library only. Ask at the Information Desk for help.
Contains thousands of full text titles covering a broad range of subjects. Access to titles from general interest magazines, academic journals, business and technology publications, law journals, health care periodicals, newspapers and news services.
GPO Access's online catalogContains bibliographic citations to documents published by the Federal Government from 1976 to the present, and provides links to the online version of some documents. Documents cover a wide variety of subjects. For more on our Documents Collection, see our library guide on Finding US Government Documents, available at the Information Desk or online at our web page.
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics OnlineThe standard reference from CRC Press. This online version, the 88th edition (2007-08), allows you to search the text and print or email what you find. Also, the 2002-2003 version is available in print in the library -- Ref. QD65 .C87 2002.
HeinOnlineProvides the full text (back to the late 1800s) of many top national and international legal journals as well as the Federal Register from its inception in 1936 through July 2007.
HighWire PressA Stanford University site with the world's largest archive of free full-text science. As of 11/07 HighWire Press is assisting in the online publication of 1.8 million free full-text articles and 4.5 million total articles. There are 10 sites offering free trial periods, and 43 completely free sites. Another 248 sites have free back issues. Access specifically to resources UNH subscribes to via Full Text Electronic Journal Holdings. Links on our web page.
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)Full text, searchable images of the Christian Science Monitor (1908-1994); Los Angeles Times, (1881-1986); New York Times (1851 to 2004); Wall Street Journal (1889-1990); and Washington Post (1877-1991). These databases must be searched separately from other ProQuest databases. More current coverage of these newspapers is provided by ProQuest Newspapers.
Note: The Hartford Courant - Historical is not automatically selected if you click on the "ProQuest Historical Newspapers" link, above. If you would like to search Hartford Courant - Historical as well, you must click on "select multiple databases," then on the next screen check the box next to "ProQuest Historical Newspapers Hartford Courant 1764-1922."
IRIS (Illinois Researcher Information Service)A database of funding/grant opportunities in all fields. Includes useful links to other sites and provides online guides to grant writing. You can also sign up for an email alert service.
Access to the full text of books on chemistry, chemical engineering and engineering. Also links to Critical Tables and other e-books.
A database of information useful to practicing professionals in the field of dentistry. Includes a pharmacology database with information on drugs and natural products, the full text and images of reference sources such as The Manual of Clinical Periodontics, and Oral Soft Tissue Diseases. These include radiographs and other images, links to useful Internet sites and an Internet search engine.
A full text online information service that is valuable for finding articles in newspapers as well as popular and professional journals. (Note: Does not provide images -- ProQuest's Historical Newspaper and Newspaper Collections do.)
LexisNexis is divided into five major areas of interest: general, legal, news, business and people. This database underwent major interface changes this year. The legal arena covers the full text of legal periodical literature, case reviews, statutes and regulations, the option to search by topic, by jurisdiction (federal or state), by case name, patents, or to shepardize. The business module includes company profiles, SEC filings, company dossiers, accounting and country profiles. Also available are Easy Search, Power Search, and General Search capabilities.
Newspapers from ProQuest and iCONN
Access citations, abstracts and full text articles from newspapers, including the Boston Globe, (1980-), Christian Science Monitor (1988-), Hartford Courant (1992-), Los Angeles Times (1985-), New York Times (1980-), Wall Street Journal (1984-), and Washington Post (1987-). For earlier coverage, use Historical Newspapers.
An index with full text of APA (American Psychological Association) journals from 1985 to the present.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
A collection of searchable full text, peer-reviewed non-APA (American Psychological Association) journal literature from 1965 to the present. Includes book reviews, conference proceedings and reports. There are nearly 575 full text publications. The database covers topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods.
From the American Psychological Association (APA). The online version of Psychological Abstracts. This index to psychological literature provides citations with some abstracts to international literature dating back to 1887. Nearly 2.3 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines.
A citation or abstract in this database will link to full text in PsycARTICLES or the Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, or any other database from EBSCOHost, so that a search in PsycINFO alone is almost equivalent to searching in all three. Not all databases provide the same type of indexing, which will affect which strategy you choose. PsycINFO also provides live links to article references, if the articles cited are included in the database.
An index to publications from John Wiley & Sons. Includes 1,000 leading scientific, medical and technical journals. Access to free full text as well as resources UNH subscribes to via the Journals at the MKP Library link on our web page.
Freely Available Internet Indexes and Full Text Articles
"Open access journals" are scholarly, full text, free journals available via the Internet. Some web sites also provide free access to other periodical publications on the Internet, or allow you to search for bibliographic citations (references to articles). The following is a short list of some such sites. Our Library Guide on Finding Articles has more.
Provides free "open access" to journals online, mostly in the biomedical sciences. Look at the list of journals for more detail.
Crime & Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal InvestigationA blog edited by Daryl W. Clemens, a crime scene technician.
Directory of Open Access JournalsHosted by the Lund University Library, Sweden. May be browsed by title or subject. Funded by the Open Society Institute in Budapest, and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals, aiming to cover all subjects and languages. There are now 2,900 journals in the directory. Currently 933 journals are searchable at article level.
Forensic Science Communications
Published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this is a peer-reviewed forensic science journal published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. The publication serves as a means of communication between forensic scientists. Forensic Science Communications supersedes the Crime Laboratory Digest.
A search engine geared to researchers. Multi-disciplinary coverage of peer-reviewed papers, books, articles and abstracts, and theses from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations
Google's search engine, designed specifically to retrieve government web sites and publications.
International Journal of Digital Evidence
IJDE is a forum for the discussion of theory, research, policy, and practice in the field of digital evidence.
A search engine and directory for finding online magazine articles. It also provides feeds for use on other websites.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts DatabaseThe NCJRS Abstracts Database contains summaries of the more than 190,000 criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse resources. Because we are a Federal Depository library, we do carry some of these resources in our Government Documents collection. Ask at the information desk for assistance with government documents.
A service of The National Library of Medicine. Some full text, but mostly citations, including those from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s.
Science.govProvided by the U.S. Department of Energy, a gateway to millions of pages of authoritatively selected science information provided by government agencies in the United States. The Office of Scientific & Technical Information (OSTI) allows the same type of access for grey literature. Grey literature includes newsletters, reports, working papers, theses, government documents, bulletins, fact sheets, conference proceedings and other publications.
A science search engine that acts as an index to scientific literature on the Internet, including the full text of open access journals, citations to scientific literature, and web sites.
Most of the following web sites have been created under the auspices of professional or educational organizations. In general, look to web sites whose addresses end in .edu, .gov (government) or .org. Those that end in .com indicate commercial sites. Many professional sites end in .org. Both .com and .org sites may be useful and of good quality, but it is important to check the credentials of those who create or distribute the content of any site. Look for the "About Us" section of a site's home page.
♦Academic Programs and Career Information:
Career Resources in the Forensic Sciences: An Annotated Bibliography
By Katherine Killoran of the Lloyd Sealy Library, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Forensic Science Programs Worldwide
A site from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
George Washington University, Dept. of Forensic Sciences
One of the more comprehensive sites, with links to a variety of topics concerning the forensic sciences.
Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science
Opened in 1998, the Institute is affiliated with the University of New Haven. Henry Lee is recognized world-wide as a leader in the field of forensic science. Find information here on classes, workshops, volunteer opportunities, and scholarships.
USAJOBS
The official U.S. Government site for those seeking government jobs. The site includes information on student jobs, scholarships, skills testing and help with résumés and applications.♦Associations and Organizations:
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)
Representing all 50 United States, Canada, and 52 other countries worldwide, members actively practice forensic science and, in many cases, teach and conduct research in the field as well. AAFS publishes the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
American Forensic Association
"Committed to public advocacy and to those who teach it" is their motto. Maintained by Wake Forest University.
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
Dedicated to the advancement of crime laboratory procedures.
Canadian Society of Forensic Science (CSFS)
Membership in the society is open internationally to professionals with an active interest in the forensic sciences. It is organized into sections representing diverse areas of forensic examination: Anthropology, Medical, Odontology, Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Engineering and Toxicology.
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes
ENFSI has sixteen working groups on such topics as DNA, Drugs, Explosives, and Fingerprints.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Created to protect the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence aggression. The site has job information for those interested in a career in the FBI. One section includes job information for those still in college. See also their link for "Reports & Publications."
Forensic Science Society
Includes index to articles in the Journal of the Forensic Science Society and Science & Justice. Published in the United Kingdom.
International Association of Identification (IAI)
Publishes the bimonthly Journal of Forensic Identification.
National Forensic Association
Sponsors the largest intercollegiate individual events and Lincoln-Douglas debate tournament, as well as a journal devoted to forensic research.
♦Ballistics:Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners (AFTE)
♦Crime Scene Investigation:
BackTrack: The Original Software for the Directional Analysis(c) of Bloodstain Patterns Found at Crime Scenes
Crime-Scene-Investigator.net
Evidence Photographers International Council, Inc.♦DNA:
DNA Forensics-Human Genome Project Information
A site from the Department of Energy and The National Institutes of Health.
♦Fingerprints:The Cyanoacrylate Fuming Method
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Information
A site of the FBI's NICS Operations Center, Clarksburg, WV.
ONIN♦Forensic Odontology:
American Board of Forensic Odontology
Links to the American Society of Forensic Odontology (below).
American Society of Forensic Odontology
Forensic Dentistry Online♦General Overview Sites:
Forensic-Evidence.com
Maintained by Andre A Moenssens, the Douglas Stripp/Missouri Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Forensic Science Resources, A Summary
From the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
Reddy's Forensic Page
Maintained by Reddy P. Chamakura, a forensic scientist with the Police Laboratory, New York City Police Department.
Zeno's Forensic Site
From Zeno Geradts, a forensic scientist at the Netherlands Forensic Institute.♦Handbook:
Handbook of Forensic Services
Describes the basics of the forensic crime scene examinations performed by the FBI Laboratory. Older, paper editions are in the Documents collection.♦Pathology:
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP)
Decomposition: What Happens to the Body after Death
Forensic Science Publications and Products, National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
Medical Examiner and Coroner Information Sharing Program
A site from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) Web Site♦Specialized Fields and Topics in the Forensic Sciences:
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
American Board of Forensic Document Examiners
Forensic Art
A site created by Wesley Neville, a forensic artist with the Florence County Sheriff's Office in Florence, South Carolina.
Forensic Botany
A project in the Web Literacy for the Natural Sciences class at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Forensic Entomology
All about insects in legal investigations.
Marks Working Group-European Network of Forensic Science Institutes♦Television Programs:
Court TV: Forensic Files
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation♦Toxicology:
International Association of Forensic Toxicologists
Society of Forensic Toxicologists
TOXNET
Toxicology Database Network: a collection of databases from the National Library of Medicine.For help writing research papers, contact the Center for Learning Resources Writing Lab, located in Maxcy Hall.
For help with your library research, visit us at the Information Desk, call us at 203-932-7189, or e-mail us: LibraryHelp@newhaven.edu
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Forensic Handout