Research Guides: Forensic Science: Find Web Sites

Forensic Database

Forensic Database
"The NIST Law Enforcement Standards Office (OLES) Forensic Science Program conducted a survey of state and federal law enforcement agencies to develop a comprehensive list of databases, reference materials, and standard reference collections use by forensic scientists in laboratories at the state and local levels. The survey resulted in 228 state, federal, and commercially run databases. This list below, which is sorted by forensic science discipline, contains the federal and commercial databases. You may also download this list in Excel. A list of NIJ-funded databases can be found on the NIJ website." (National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce.)

Forensic Science Resources

FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) "Our priority is to help protect you, your children, your communities, and your businesses from the most dangerous threats facing our nation—from international and domestic terrorists to spies on U.S. soil, from cyber villains to corrupt government officials, from mobsters to violent street gangs, from child predators to serial killers. Along the way, we help defend and uphold our nation’s economy, physical and electronic infrastructure, and democracy."
Forensic Bioinformatics "We are deeply committed to the principle of making known the truth about scientific evidence: how it is generated, what it means and the way that it is interpreted. More information is always better than less."
Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice "NIJ’s forensic science research and development program focuses on basic and applied scientific research ..."
Forensic® (FOR) "Forensic® (FOR) is the #1 leading source for daily breaking news in the forensic research community. While FOR has evolved over the years since its inception as a former magazine in 2005, FOR continues its unwavering commitment to its loyal readers of forensic and crime scene professionals. Currently, FOR is published daily online and covers a breadth of information vital to forensic professionals - from DNA to trace analysis, sample prep, toxicology, crime scene technologies, and technological advancements across the relatively dynamic and evolving forensic landscape."
GenBank, National Library of Medicine (NLM) "GenBank ® is the NIH genetic sequence database, an annotated collection of all publicly available DNA sequences (Nucleic Acids Research, 2013 Jan;41(D1):D36-42). GenBank is part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, which comprises the DNA DataBank of Japan (DDBJ), the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), and GenBank at NCBI. These three organizations exchange data on a daily basis."
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) "The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is the place to discover, access, and analyze data on crime and justice."
National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law (National Institute of Justice) "NCSTL provides a searchable database of legal, forensic, and technology resources; a reference collection of law, science, and technology material; content-specific bibliographies; national conferences on science, technology, and the law; community acceptance panels; and training for defense counsel who are handling cases involving biological evidence on the applications and limitations of DNA evidence as stated in the President’s DNA Initiative."
National Library of Medicine (NLM) Bookshelf "Bookshelf provides free online access to books and documents in life science and healthcare. Search, read, and discover."
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce "NIST is working to strengthen forensic practice through research and improved standards."
PubChem, National Library of Medicine (NLM) "PubChem is the world's largest collection of freely accessible chemical information. Search chemicals by name, molecular formula, structure, and other identifiers. Find chemical and physical properties, biological activities, safety and toxicity information, patents, literature citations and more."

Fingerprint Sourcebook, National Institute of Justice
Handbook of Forensic Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "The Handbook of Forensic Services provides guidance and procedures for safe and efficient methods of collecting, preserving, packaging, and shipping evidence and describes the forensic examinations performed by the FBI’s Laboratory Division."

Criminal Justice and Population Statistics

Associations

American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) "The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is a multidisciplinary professional organization that provides leadership to advance science and its application to the legal system. Since 1948, we have served a distinguished and diverse membership. Our 6,000+ members represent all 50 United States and 71 other countries."
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)
Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences "The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences is committed to integrity and impartiality. It aims to provide opportunities for practitioners, academics and interested parties to congregate, communicate and collaborate and is committed to providing opportunities for professional development."
International Association for Identification (IAI) "We are the oldest and largest forensic association in the world. This professional forensic association represents a diverse, knowledgeable and experienced membership that are assembled to educate, share, critique and publish methods, techniques and research in the physical forensic science disciplines."

Beyond Google

Even though Google is capable of finding a great many Web sites, the task of wading through and evaluating these sites can be quite daunting. This page is meant to save you time by presenting recommended Web sites that have been evaluated by librarians.

Remember, for any Web site you find, it is always important to decide whether or not it is trustworthy. Try answering some of these questions to help you decide:

Can you identify the author of the web site and the author's credentials?
Is there a clearly defined purpose for the site? Are they trying to sell you something?
Do you see biased language, recognize an inflammatory tone, or detect a particular agenda?
Can you verify the Web site's information in separate, independent resources?
Are there spelling or grammar errors?
Has the website been updated lately?

Click the link below for more information about evaluating resources, including explanations of website domains, such as .edu, .gov, .org, .com, .net, and so on.

Guidelines for Critical Evaluation of Information Sources

Forensic Science

My Profile

Ask a Librarian

Forensic Database

Forensic Science Resources

Criminal Justice and Population Statistics

Associations

Beyond Google

Library Services

Learning Support Services

Contact