Cohen, Morris L. et al. How to Find the Law . Standard source on primary and secondary sources of American law. Nelson, Bonnie R. Criminal Justice Research in Libraries and on the Internet . Includes chapters on legal research, research in forensic science, historical research, comparative research across countries.
Encyclopedias provide an overview of knowledge on important subjects.
General unabridged dictionaries have good coverage of terms in criminal justice, but are not so complete as dictionaries limited to a particular subject. A42 American Jurisprudence . Black, Henry Campbell. Standard legal authority. Citations to court decisions included when a term has been affected by legislation, court rules, or court decisions.