Forensic Psychology
According to the American Board of Forensic Psychology This link opens in a new window (ABFP), "Forensic Psychology is the application of the science and profession of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system. The word “forensic” comes from the Latin word 'forensis,' meaning 'of the forum,' where the law courts of ancient Rome were held. Today forensic refers to the application of scientific principles and practices to the adversary process where scientists with specialized knowledge play a role." Areas of forensic psychology include criminal justice, correctional psychology, forensic evaluation, expert testimony, eyewitness testimony, competence to testify, and other legal applications of psychology.
- Forensic Psychology Research Topics This link opens in a new windowList of forensic psychology topics with links to overviews for each. Includes criminal competencies, criminal responsibility, death penalty, eyewitness memory, forensic assessment, juvenile offenders, etc.
Forensic Psychology by Call Number: Available Online (Click Title)ISBN: 9780199550203Publication Date: 2010-08-06
Forensic Psychology by Call Number: Available Online (Click Title)ISBN: 9781473911949Publication Date: 2015-10-07
Introduction to Forensic Psychology by Call Number: Available Online (Click Title)ISBN: 9780123821706Publication Date: 2012-11-07
Forensic Psychology Databases
Research in forensic psychology utilizes psychology databases as well as resources in Criminal Justice, Justice Studies, Law, and Sociology. You may find it helpful to search the following databases for your forensic psychology topics or research questions, in addition to the core Psychology resources listed on the home page of this guide.
- Child Development & Adolescent Studies - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowIndex to magazines and scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals on growth and development of children through the age of 21
- Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowThis comprehensive database includes full text and bibliographic records of leading journals in the criminal justice field.
- Criminal Justice Database - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowMagazines, journals and trade publications for professionals in law enforcement, corrections administration, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family law, and industrial security
- Family & Society Studies Worldwide - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowCoverage of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science, Human Ecology, Human Development, and Social Welfare
- HeinOnline Legal Databases This link opens in a new windowCore collection of current and historical law and law-related periodicals, classic books and reports. Includes government and political documents, such as World Constitutions, US Congressional Documents, the Federal Register and much more. Includes the HeinOnline Slavery in America and the World Collection (found within the UNC Press Law collection).
- International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowThis database offers information on virtually every dimension of security and counter-terrorism. It provides a comprehensive Open Source Intelligence Resource for analysts, risk management professionals, and students. ISCTRC combines deep background from scholarly writings with expert commentary from a variety of organizations, agencies and publishers and timely reviews of recent developments across the international political, military, economic, social and technical spectrum. Content includes nearly 3,000 full-text items from a variety of sources, including reports from Stratfor Analysis, Stratfor Forecasts, and Stratfor Geopolitical Diary and over 10,500 pertinent images.
- National Criminal Justice (NCJRS) Reference Service This link opens in a new windowThe NCJRS Library and Abstracts provide access to summaries of more than 195,000 justice and substance abuse resources. National Criminal Justice Reference Service is a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowNexis Uni provides full-text access to over 15,000 news, business, and legal sources. News coverage includes deep archives and the latest stories. Use the Company Dossier module to retrieve detailed company information and financial performance measures. The Company Dossier module also allows you to identify and compare companies matching specific criteria. This product also provides access to the renowned Shepard's Citations service for all federal and state court cases 1789-present. Nexis Uni is the new platform to replace LexisNexis Academic, which has been phased out by the vendor.
- SAGE Journals This link opens in a new windowThe SAGE Journals platform includes full text of scholarly journals from SAGE publications in many disciplines, such as, education, sociology, women's studies, criminal justice and business.
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowOffers a collection of full-text, scholarly journals and eBooks in science, technology, medicine, and social sciences.
- Social Science Database - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowSearch full-text periodicals covering the social sciences
Forensic Psychology Subject Headings
You may find it helpful to take advantage of predefined subjects or subject headings in Shapiro Databases. These subjects are applied to articles and books by expert catalogers to help you find materials on your topic.
Consider using databases to perform subject searches, or incorporating words from applicable subjects into your keyword searches. Here are some forensic psychology subjects to consider:
- correctional psychology
- criminal behavior
- expert testimony
- eyewitness testimony
- forensic assessment
- forensic evaluation
- institutionalization
- psychological autopsy
- terrorism
Forensic Psychology Organization Websites
- American Academy of Forensic Psychology This link opens in a new windowA non-profit organization of board certified forensic psychologists whose mission is to contribute to the development and maintenance of forensic psychology as a specialized field of study, research and practice by providing continuing education workshops, a forum for the exchange of scientific information among its members, and conferring awards upon outstanding students and practitioners in the field of forensic psychology.
- American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) This link opens in a new windowAmerican Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. AAPL (pronounced "apple") is an organization of psychiatrists dedicated to excellence in practice, teaching, and research in forensic psychiatry. Founded in 1969, AAPL currently has over 2,000 members in North America and around the world.
- American Board of Forensic Psychology This link opens in a new windowAs in many professions, Specialty Board Certification in Forensic Psychology signifies that an individual has met the established standards for the profession as maintained and protected by an organization that the field recognizes for that role. The organization entrusted with that role regarding board certification in Forensic Psychology is the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), which attests that the certified professional possesses a high level of professional competence in the specialty area.
- UVA Institute of Law, Psychiatry, & Public Policy This link opens in a new windowThe Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia is an interdisciplinary program in mental health law, forensic psychiatry, forensic psychology, forensic neuropsychology and forensic social work. Institute activities include academic programs, forensic clinical evaluations, professional training, empirical and theoretical research, and public policy consultation and review.