Forensic Science Resources
Library Catalog
Books
Government Documents
Journals
Databases
Internet Sources
AAFS Citation Style
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. 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.
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 books 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.
Advancement in the Identification and Enhancement of Latent Fingerprints. AS 36 .N292 2005 no.1
Ancestry Determination by DNA Analysis and the Applications in Forensic Science. AS 36 .N292 2006 no.3
Biology Methods Manual. 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 more cases: The Forensic Science of Solving Crimes. HV8079.H6 L44 2004
Crime Scene Processing : Laboratory Manual and Workbook. HV8073 .H32 2005
Criminal Investigation : an Analytical Perspective HV8073 .B673 2004
Criminal Investigation : the Art and the Science HV8073 .L94 2005
Criminal Investigation : a Method for Reconstructing the Past HV8073 .O88 2004
Criminal Investigation for the Professional Investigator HV8073 .S626 2006
Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers. HV8079.H6 B27 2002
Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law. KF8961 .K54 2001
Forensic Psychology: From Classroom to Courtroom.RA1148 .F558 2002
Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques. HV8073 .F5835 2003
Forensic Science Laboratory Manual and Workbook. HV8073 .K75 2005
A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation HV8079.F4 G65 2006
The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Ref QD65 .C87 2002. The 2008-2009 edition is available online.
Handbook of Forensic Drug Analysis. Ref. RA1160 .H34 2005.
Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook. Perm. Reserve HV8073 .L414 2001
Investigative Uses of Technology: Devices, Tools, and Techniques Ref. KF9660 .I58 2007
Officer-Involved Shootings and Use of Force: Practical Investigative Techniques. HV8031 .H38 2003
Physical Evidence in Forensic Science. Perm. Reserve HV8073 .L39 2006. Earlier editions in circulating collection.
A Radiological Atlas of Abuse, Torture, Terrorism, and Inflicted Trauma. Perm. Reserve RA1058.5.R336 2003
Rape Investigation Handbook. Ref. HV8079.R35 R36 2005
Scientific Examination of Documents : Methods and Techniques HV8074 .E45 2006
Terrorism: An Investigator's Handbook. HV6431 .D97 2005
Trace Evidence Analysis: More Cases in Mute Witnesses. HV8073 .T63x 2004
Government Documents Collection
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:
An Act to Reauthorize the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, and for Other Purposes AE 2.110:110-360
Cold Case Squads: Leaving No Stone Unturned J 26.32:C 67
Crime Scene Investigation: a Reference for Law Enforcement Training J 28.15/2:C 86
Digital Evidence in the Courtroom: a Guide for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors J 28.15/2:EV 3
Education and Training in Forensic Science: A Guide for Forensic Science Laboratories, Educational Institutions, and Students. 2004. J 28.15/2:2004023790
Electronic Crime Scene Investigation : a Guide for First Responders J 28.15/2:EL 1/2008
Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 AE 2.110:110-344
Eyewitness Evidence: A Trainer's Manual for Law Enforcement. 2003. J 28.15/2:EY 3
The FBI : a Centennial History, 1908-2008. J 1.14/2:C 33/3
Forensic Science Communications J 28.15/2:EY 3
Handbook of Forensic Services J 1.14/18-3:
Identifying Victims Using DNA : a Guide for Families PR 43.8:D 44/V 66
Increasing Efficiency in Crime Laboratories J 28.41:L 11
Investigating Child Fatalities J 32.3:F 26
Investigations Involving the Internet and Computer Networks J 28.15/2:IN 8
Lessons Learned from 9/11 : DNA Identification in Mass Fatality Incidents J 28.2:D 44/4
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
Researching a problem J 36.15/2:2
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
Victims with disabilities the forensic interview : techniques for interviewing victims with communication and/or cognitive disabilities : trainer's guide. J 34.2:D 63/2/GUIDE
Popular and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers and some annual publications like yearbooks are called periodicals. Use the Journals 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 link on our home page for the dates and locations of most of our journals.
Individual 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 Abstracts
Forensic Science Communications
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
e-Journals collections
Directory of Open Access Journals
SAGE Premier 2009
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 UNH network log-in 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.
Criminal Justice Abstracts provides indexing and abstracts for journals, books, dissertations, reports, and other documents on the topic of criminal justice and criminology
Criminal Justice Periodicals comprehensive collection of U.S. and international criminal justice journals
FORENSICnetBASE /LawENFORCEMENTnetBASE get the full text of vital reference books in the forensic sciences and criminal justice. Categories covered: Counterterrorism; Criminal Justice and Law; Forensics; Law Enforcement.
Homeland Security Digital Library provides access to U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national security documents, as well as theses and reports from academic institutions and local and state organizations.
Multidisciplinary Databases
Academic OneFile A source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles. Search ‘forensic sciences' to get started.
Campus Research powered by Westlaw contains news and business sources and legal information. The Law tab accesses major legal resources, such as American Jurisprudence 2d, American Law Review, more than 700 journals and law reviews, U.S. Code Annotated, all federal and state court cases, state statutes and regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register.
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature) for articles on forensic medicine, nursing and legal evidence
Computing for articles about cyber-crime, criminal investigations and more.
CREDO Reference for dictionary definitions of terms such as DNA forensics, molecular forensics and computer forensics.
Expanded Academic ASAP Balanced coverage from 3,000 indexed and 1,900 full-text titles in a wide variety of disciplines.
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.
General OneFile search forensic sciences for magazine and journal articles, books, news, and multimedia.
GPO Access's online catalog for government hearings and guidelines as they relate to forensic science.
HeinOnline provides 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.
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) Full text, searchable images of the Hartford Courant (1764-1984); Los Angeles Times, (1881-1986); New York Times (1851 to 2005). 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."
IRIS: Illinois Research 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.
Knovel K-Essentials Access to the full text of books on chemistry, chemical engineering and engineering, such as Casarett & Doull's Toxicology-the Basic Science of Poisons. Also links to Critical Tables and other e-books.
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.
PsycARTICLES 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 journal literature from 1965 to the present. Includes book reviews, conference proceedings and reports. There are nearly 575 full text publications.
PsycINFO 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.
SAGE Premier Collection Access to 500+ SAGE journal titles, comprising over 230,000 full-text articles in a variety of disciplines.
Wiley InterScience An index to publications from John Wiley & Sons. Includes 300 leading scientific, medical and technical journals. Access to free full text as well as resources UNH subscribes to via the Journals link on our web page.
Crime & Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation A blog edited by Daryl W. Clemens, a crime scene technician.
Directory of Open Access Journals Hosted 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.
Google Scholar A search engine geared towards 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 U.S. Government Search Google's search engine designed specifically to retrieve government web sites and publications.
HighWire Press A Stanford University site with the world's largest archive of free full-text science. As of 6/16/09, they are assisting in the online publication of 1,902,748 free full-text articles and 5,986,913 total articles.
International Journal of Digital Evidence IJDE is a forum for the discussion of theory, research, policy, and practice in the field of digital evidence.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database contains summaries of the more than 200,000 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.
PubMed 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.
PubMed Central is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
Science.gov Provided 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.
Academic Programs and Career Information:
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, Firearms and Toxicology.
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes ENFSI has 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 threats. 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 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:
Crime Scene Investigator Network
Evidence Photographers International Council, Inc.
DNA:
Human Genome Project Information
Fingerprints:
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
ONIN is a non-profit website maintained for professional and personal interests by a forensic scientist with over 30 years experience working in government crime laboratories on three continents.
Forensic Odontology:
American Board of Forensic Odontology
American Society of Forensic Odontology
Forensic Dentistry Online
General Overview Sites:
Forensic-Evidence.com
Forensic Science Resources, A Summary
Reddy's Forensic Page
Zeno's Forensic Site
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
Publications: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
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 created by Wesley Neville, a forensic artist.
Forensic Botany
Forensic Entomology All about insects in legal investigations.
Expert Working Group Marks
Television Programs:
Court TV: Forensic Files
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Toxicology:
International Association of Forensic Toxicologists
Society of Forensic Toxicologists
TOXNET Toxicology Data Network: a collection of databases from the National Library of Medicine.
For information on how to properly format a paper for AAFS publication, visit the AAFS website and select Info for Authors from the Journal of Forensic Sciences tab. For examples of how to format citations, scroll down to the References section.
For help writing research papers, contact the Center for Learning Resources, 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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