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Commonwealth Studies: Journals

Introduction

A journal is a regular publication (monthly, yearly, etc.) in which you will find academic and research articles. The articles present current research and are critiqued by experts before publication, so you can be confident of their quality. The majority of journals held by the Bodleian Libraries in both physical and electronic formats can be searched via SOLO, as can the individual articles within ejournals.

On this page you will find recommended journals and guidance on how to search for and access print and ejournals.

Definitions

Terms you may encounter in your research

(Academic) Journal:
A regular publication of academic and research articles.

Serial:
A broad term that refers to items published in a series but the items are separate and standalone. Examples include indexes, yearbooks and some journals.

Periodical:
A regular publication that includes articles, stories and other text. Magazines and newspapers are examples of these.

Full-text:
This means you can read the item in full from beginning to end, not just the abstract or summary.

Platform:
This refers to the site on which you can find and access the journal.

Working, or Research, or Discussion Papers:
Pre-publication not peer-reviewed versions of academic articles, book chapters, or reviews which are are in progress, under submission, or in

Bibliographic database:
A searchable platform that contains descriptive records of articles, books, conference proceedings, audio-visual material, maps, newspapers, and more.

Abstracting service:
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides abstracts of publications.

Indexing service:
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides descriptors to help organise and navigate publications.

Electronic journals (ejournals)

Ejournals are digital versions of select types of serial publications. Broadly speaking they come in two forms: they are either 'born digital' or are digital reproductions of physical works.

The tabs at the top of this section list key ejournals, ejournal collections, tables of contents services and free online resources relevant to the study of refugee and forced migration studies.

Access

Members of Oxford University can use ejournals that the Bodleian Libraries have purchased for free. Search for them on SOLO. They can be read on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, e-reader or mobile phone; you just need your Oxford Single Sign On to access them. Individually purchased ejournals are all searchable on SOLO, but not all purchased ejournal collections are, so it is important to visit the websites of ejournal collections too. Look at the 'ejournal collections' tab above.

Note, some ejournals have restrictive access and usage terms, for example they can only be read by one person at a time.

Some books are acquired via 'electronic Legal Deposit'. These must be read on a library desktop computer in one of the Bodleian Libraries. Further information on how to identify and access electronic Legal Deposit items on SOLO is at the link below.

Help with ejournals

The links below are provided for those wishing to learn more about ejournals.

Below you will find key texts for Commonwealth Studies. For Africa-specific e-journals use the African Studies Libguide.

Access

Depending on the journal provider, you may need to use your Oxford Single Sign On to access materials.  

The following is a list of ejournal collections and journal indexing services applicable to those studying refugee and forced migration studies at Oxford. Not all ejournal collections are available on SOLO, so it is important to visit ejournal collection websites to expand your search.

The platforms that host ejournal collections allow you to browse and search across all ejournals on their site and encounter titles of interest you may not have otherwise found. Unlike search engines, such as Google, these platforms allow you to effectively refine your search. You can be confident content is credible as it has been collated by the platform editors. It is clear where articles can be read for free through the Bodleian Libraries' subscriptions.

Access

The ejournal collections have been selected by the Bodleian Libraries and you are able to access them for free because of institutional subscriptions. You will need your Oxford Single Sign On to access the ebooks if you are not on the University network.

The following is a list of open access ejournal collections applicable to those studying African Studies at Oxford and freely available on the web.

Access

You do not need your Oxford Single Sign On to access these collections. Note, they are different to the ejournals subscribed to by the Bodleian Libraries for which you need your Single Sign On for access.

Physical journals

The tabs at the top of this section list Oxford University libraries with print journals of interest to those studying Commonwealth Studies. A lot of journals are available online but some are still in print, especially those published before the introduction of computers and online journals, and they have not all been digitised.

Help with print journals

For those wishing to learn more about searching for journals in Oxford, we recommend the following guide:

Australian National University OA titles

Open access to ANU journals and series.

Recommend a journal

If the Bodleian Libraries don't have the journal or article you are looking for, you can make a recommendation by completing the form below (Oxford Single-Sign On required).

Inter-library loans

If the Bodleian Libraries don't have the journal you are looking for, we may be able to source it through Oxford's inter-library loan service.

Browzine

Browzine iconBrowZine is an alternative way to browse many of the ejournals subscribed to by the Bodleian Libraries. Coverage is from 2005 onwards.  For those wishing to learn more, we recommend the following guide: