# FAQ
# What is ICJIA Research Hub?
ICJIA Research Hub is the latest iteration of the ICJIA Research & Analysis (R&A) Unit's ongoing effort to bring criminal justice data and research to the public. It seeks to provide a focused and dedicated platform to share the ICJIA R&A Unit's research activities and products. It is also an open-source project that allows the public to get engaged in its making.
# What is ICJIA?
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is a state agency dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice. Its statutory responsibilities fall under the categories of grants administration, research and analysis, policy and planning, and information systems and technology.
For more information about ICJIA, please visit the official website.
# What is open source and how is ICJIA Research Hub an open-source project?
In short, a software product is open-source if its source code is released under an open-source license, which allows the product to be "freely used, modified, and shared." The development of ICJIA Research Hub relies on a set of public GitHub repositories each including an open-source MIT license, which makes the project open-source.
# I am experiencing a technical issue in ICJIA Research Hub. How can I report it?
If you find a technical issue in ICJIA Research Hub (e.g. "this hyperlink to an external page is broken" or "numbers in that Dataset file seem incorrect"), you can report it to CJA.ResearchHub@illinois.gov. Also, contact us via email if you'd like to share specific suggestions to improve ICJIA Research Hub. If you are technically inclined, consider opening a GitHub issue here, instead.
If you want general information on ICJIA or the R&A Unit, please refer to the official website.
# How can I get involved in ICJIA Research Hub?
It's wonderful that you are interested in getting involved in this project! Your contribution can range from reporting a bug to suggesting a new feature to submitting relevant contents to improving this documentation to contributing to the project's codebase.
Please start with the Code of Conduct page to understand the basic expectations. See this page if you'd like to contribute to our codebase. See this page if you'd like to contribute to our contents.
# What is category and what categories are there?
ICJIA Research Hub organizes its publications, or contents, in categories. Each category represents a specific aspect or subject field of criminal justice research and data.
Currently, there are six categories in total: Corrections, Courts, Crimes, Law enforcement, Victims, and Other. This category list draws on the list of "Topics" used by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to organize contents on the Bureau's website.
Notice of Federal Funding and Federal Disclaimer
This Web site is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this Web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).
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