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Homeland Security: Articles & Databases

Online research guide for Homeland Security majors

Databases relevant to your program

What does "full text" mean?

"Full text" means that you have access to the entire article - not just the citation and abstract. By selecting "full text" when you're searching in a database, you are telling that database to only return results that you will be able to read immediately.

What does "peer reviewed" mean?

Authority

Articles that have been "peer reviewed" (or sometimes are referred to as "scholarly" articles) were written by experts and have been through a very rigorous editing process.

Verified

The manuscript of the article is sent to acknowledged experts in the same field who review the information. Once they give their seal of approval, the article can be published.

Reliable

Because the editing process is so extensive, articles that have been peer reviewed are considered to be the most reliable type of source.

Audience

These peer reviewed articles are written for professionals already working in the field. You can expect a peer reviewed article to use discipline-specific vocabulary, and they usually are 10 - 40 pages in length.

Types of Sources

Topic Pages for Homeland Security

Relevant Films

Relevant Business Information

What is a journal?

A journal is a collection of articles published on a periodic basis (once per month, three times per year, etc.). Some journals contain articles that have been peer reviewed. Others are considered "trade journals" and contain articles relevant to a specific occupation, but have not been through the peer review process.

Find Journals on the Library Shelves

Corrections Today "the professional membership publication of the American Correctional Association (ACA). Its international readership includes individuals involved in every sector of the corrections and criminal justice fields. The magazine is published six times a year."
Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International Published by the IACSP. "The objective of the IACSP is to provide a forum within which security professionals can learn about terrorism trends and counter-terrorism solutions, including security strategies, management techniques, and new technologies. The Journal also provides analysis of past terrorism events and offers possible solutions to those events which may appear down the road."
Law Enforcement Technology "The magazine is written with the law enforcement manager in mind and concentrates on emerging trends and technological advances being made in the field of law enforcement as well as focuses on companies that provide leading product categories such as computers & software, uniforms & body armor, communications, vehicles, weaponry, forensics, training, tactical equipment and video imaging products."

Tips for Searching in Databases

Most databases have an Advanced Search function. Find journal articles in a database by searching by:

  • Keyword
  • Article title
  • Author
  • Publication title

Once you have a list of results, you should be able to refine your search by limiting:

  • Full text access articles
  • Peer reviewed articles
  • Publication date (set a range of years)

Once you're looking at the publication information for an article, keep in mind that you are likely able to click on hyperlinked information found here, such as the author's name, to find more articles written by that author. You should also be able to click on "subject" terms.

What are "subject" terms?

Subjects are a list of terms used to describe a major point of the article. They work similarly to a hash tag (#) used in social media. When you click on a phrase with a hash tag in your favorite social media site, you'll see a list of posts from people around the world who used that exact same hash tag term. For example:

  • When you click on #forthewin in Twitter, you'll see a list of everyone who has recently used that same term, #forthewin

In the same way, when you click on a subject term, you'll see all articles for which that subject is a major focus.

To learn more about searching in the library's online resources see:

Subject Terms

national security civil defense United States terrorism
terrorism prevention war on terrorism intelligence service
military intelligence insurgency espionage

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