Websites and web searching
The website addresses given on this site and in the book were selected to provide access to a range of facts, figures and opinions about matters psychological and criminological. The selections are ordered around the book's chapters and, in many cases, would have helped inform my writing. However, as is the way with the internet, there are no guarantees of perfection or accuracy in the material you may access via these links. In some cases the sites will provide links to other sites, which will link to others, and so it goes on. It is best to think of my selections as places to start and then see where they take you!
However, one of the main problems in providing website links lies in the longevity of the links. There are few things more frustrating in academic work than finding a dead link just when you thought you were getting somewhere chasing a vital piece of information. When this happens you need a new link and there are, I've learned, a few heuristics that may save you hours of fruitless browsing after your search engine has delivered several thousand hits. Parenthetically, not all search engines are created equally when it comes to searching for academic material. Google Scholar is pretty well essential while we all have our personal favourites; mine is Dogpile, which consistently finds material when others fail.
I've given below five pointers that may help in organising a search of the internet for topics related to psychology and crime. They work for me, you too I hope.
- The first point is to focus your search on websites maintained by large organisations, including professional organisations and government agencies and departments. In particular, the sites maintained by the British Government (Home Office and Ministry of Justice), the Canadian Government (Canadian Correctional Service) and various agencies of the American Government (CIA and FBI) are generally good places to start. These government sites, which can be particularly good sources for statistical information, have the twin advantages of stability and regular updates. Nonetheless, a problem that sometimes arises on these sites comes when looking for old material, which may have been archived or moved when government agencies change and responsibilities shift accordingly. I've found that if you can be specific on the name of the publication, rather than the name of the researcher, then for some reason this sometimes helps with searches on government websites (particularly with the British sites). It should also be noted that it may well be the case that national government websites (like those of other large organisations) will cover several subjects so it's a good idea to try these websites for a range of topics. In addition, other agencies within the criminal justice system, such as the Crown Prosecution Service, the police and the judiciary have their own websites, which can yield a range of information.
- As well as government websites, searches on some of the large international sites may well prove helpful. The sites that are potentially useful in this context come in three broad types: (i) official international organisations; (ii) freestanding research institutions; (iii) the international charities and lobby groups. Thus, in the first category, the European Commission has a range of excellent sites that give access to a correspondingly wide array of information. The same is also true of the United Nations' website, which collates a range of global information on matters criminal. As an example of the second category, the Australian Institute of Criminology provides a wealth of research publications, crime statistics and other useful information. Another notable site in this category is the Cochrane Collaboration, which makes available a large number of literature reviews on matters criminological. Finally, in the third category, some of the large-scale independent charities and pressure groups collate material that is of direct concern to them and which would otherwise be difficult to access. Amnesty International, for example, is excellent on death penalty statistics.
- The service providers within the criminal justice system may also have helpful websites. The three British Prison Services – England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – all have websites that carry up to date material. Similarly, the Probation Service websites, both nationally and locally, are a source worth investigating. The main service providers in the world of mentally disordered offenders, principally the High Security Hospitals and the Medium Secure Units, are worth searching. In particular the four High Security Hospitals, formally known as Special Hospitals, have a long history of research and publication.
- In academic circles there are several professional organisations that have informative websites. There is, for example, The British Psychological Society (see Division of Forensic Psychology), The American Psychological Society (Division 41: American Psychology-Law Society) and the European Association of Psychology and Law. In addition, the British Criminological Society and its American counterpart also have a web presence. Another approach here is to determine if a large-scale research project, such as the Dunedin Study or the Edinburgh Study, have websites that give regular bulletins and make publications available. Finally, as in life, it may all come down to the individual researcher. There are some academics who maintain their own website, sometimes through their university, and provide lists of publications and even make available the publications themselves. A search for the website of the researchers associated with a piece of work may pay dividends (sometimes an email will receive a kind reply). Professor David Farrington's website at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, for example, provides a huge amount of information about the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.
- Where possible I much prefer specialist websites, although, of course, general websites such as Wikipedia contain a wealth of information. A great deal of time and emotional energy can be saved by avoiding blogs, websites laden with advertising, commercial websites selling services, software and so on, and anything that is plain off the wall (of which there is plenty).