Research Resources for Graduate Students in Homeland Security

The resources below provide graduate students with access to high-quality government publications, scholarly literature, statistical databases, policy reports, and primary source materials commonly used in homeland security research. These resources support coursework, capstone projects, literature reviews, and independent research across major areas of the homeland security enterprise, including terrorism and counterterrorism, emergency management, disaster resilience, public safety, criminal justice, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, public health preparedness, and national security policy. Students are encouraged to utilize multiple sources to strengthen the quality, credibility, and depth of their research.

Homeland Security Policy, Strategy, and Government Documents

Resource	Description	URL
GovInfo	Official repository of U.S. government publications, including federal laws, Congressional reports, regulations, presidential documents, and government reports.	GovInfo
DHS News & Updates	Official source for Department of Homeland Security announcements, policy updates, press releases, and emerging homeland security issues.	DHS News & Updates
Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL)	A free digital collection of publicly available homeland security policy documents, government reports, white papers, strategic plans, and research publications from federal agencies, academic institutions, and policy organizations. Particularly useful for literature reviews, policy analysis, and capstone research.	hsdl.org \| Homeland Security Digital Library at NPS
RAND Homeland Security Research Division	Research and policy analysis on terrorism, emergency management, cybersecurity, resilience, border security, and critical infrastructure protection.	RAND Homeland Security Research Division

Terrorism, Extremism, and National Security

Resource	Description	URL
Global Terrorism Database (GTD)	The world’s largest open-source terrorism database containing information on terrorist incidents, perpetrators, targets, tactics, and casualties worldwide.	Global Terrorism Database
START Consortium	Leading university-based research center dedicated to understanding terrorism, targeted violence, radicalization, and counterterrorism policies.	https://www.start.umd.edu/
The Violence Project Mass Shooter Database	Research database containing information on mass shooters, offender characteristics, motivations, and prevention-related factors.	The Violence Project
Gun Violence Archive	Near real-time database tracking firearm-related incidents, injuries, and fatalities across the United States.	Gun Violence Archive

Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Resource	Description	URL
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)	Federal source for criminal justice research, grant-funded studies, publications, evaluations, and data resources.	Office of Justice Programs
FBI Crime Data Explorer	Provides national, state, and local crime statistics, crime trend data, and downloadable datasets.	FBI Crime Data Explorer
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)	Incident-level crime database containing detailed information on offenses, victims, offenders, and crime circumstances.	NIBRS
UNODC SHERLOC	International database of legislation, case law, treaties, and resources addressing terrorism, organized crime, corruption, human trafficking, and transnational crime.	UNODC SHERLOC

Emergency Management, Disaster Resilience, and Climate Security

Resource	Description	URL
FEMA OpenFEMA	Open-access datasets covering disaster declarations, hazard mitigation grants, recovery programs, and emergency management initiatives.	https://www.fema.gov/openfema-data-page
EM-DAT International Disaster Database	Global disaster database containing information on natural and technological disasters, including impacts, fatalities, and economic losses.	EM-DAT
NASA EarthData	Environmental, weather, climate, satellite, and geospatial datasets useful for disaster preparedness, resilience planning, and risk assessment.	NASA EarthData
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)	Provides climate, weather, geophysical, and natural hazard datasets useful for disaster and resilience research.	NOAA NCEI

Public Health and Human Security

Resource	Description	URL
CDC Data & Statistics	Public health datasets covering disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, environmental health, and population health indicators.	https://data.cdc.gov/
WHO Global Health Observatory	Global health statistics and indicators supporting research on pandemics, public health preparedness, human security, and international health security.	https://www.who.int/data/gho

Scholarly Literature, Data, and Primary Sources

Resource	Description	URL
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)	Directory of peer-reviewed open-access journals across numerous disciplines, including homeland security, public administration, criminal justice, and public health.	DOAJ
Science.gov	Searches scientific reports, publications, and databases from U.S. federal agencies and research institutions.	Science.gov
Data.gov	Central repository of U.S. government open datasets supporting quantitative analysis, policy research, and data visualization.	Data.gov
U.S. Census Bureau Data	Demographic, economic, housing, and geographic data frequently used in vulnerability assessments and resilience studies.	U.S. Census Bureau Data
Library of Congress Digital Collections	Extensive collection of digitized primary source documents, photographs, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, and historical records.	Library of Congress Digital Collections
Our World in Data	Curated global datasets and visualizations covering migration, health, conflict, economics, technology, environmental change, and development.	Our World in Data

Note to Students

While these resources provide an excellent foundation for homeland security research, students should also utilize Western Connecticut State University’s library databases, subject guides, and librarian consultation services when conducting comprehensive literature reviews and capstone research. Combining scholarly articles, government reports, policy documents, and empirical datasets will strengthen the quality, credibility, and rigor of your research.