A journal is a regular publication (monthly, yearly, etc.) in which you will find academic and research articles. The articles present current research and quick (but thoughtful) responses to legal developments, such as Case Comments..
Journals which are peer-reviewed submit potential articles to evaluation by other experts before publication, so you can be confident of the quality of those finally included in the volume.
The majority of journals held by the Bodleian Libraries in both physical and electronic formats can be searched via SOLO, however you may find the Law Library's own database easier to use.
Use the other tabs in this box to find recommended journals and guidance on the special online tools to help you find articles in law journals
Among the specialist journals to which holders of an Oxford SSO have online access are:
Available on the free web
Institutional and subject repositories can be another way to find relevant articles
The Law Library's journal collection is arranged across all 4 floors of the library. The shelf mark and, in many instances, whether or not you are looking for an issue, volume or article published before or after 2000 will determine your footsteps!
Shelf marks beginning
Cw UK - on level 2, the entrance level
Jurisp 300
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 1; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
General 300
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 1; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
Internat 300 or Private Int 300
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 3; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
Euro Comm or the name of a European jurisdiction eg German
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 3; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
Please ask a member of staff for directions when you visit the Law Bod.
Legal databases and ejournal platforms offer ways for you to set up customised alerts and/or an RSS feed. Look out for "Current Awareness," "Stay up to Date," "Create Alert" or the bell icon: instructions are usually clear. If you do encounter difficulties please contact us.
Note that Westlaw Edge UK also includes the formerly separate LawTel service
An ETOC or TOC option provides the entire table of contents of each new journal issue.
If you come to the Law Library, check out the Just In Corner on Level 2 (the entrance level) which has a display of the most recent issues of those law journals still received in print. (This display is updated weekiy.)
In addition (especially if you have inter disciplinary interests)
Some researchers may remember ZETOC. In its place we recommend the open access service JournalsTOCs - "the largest, free collection of scholarly journal Tables of Contents (TOCs): 32,312 journals including 15,741 selected Open Access journals and 11,834 Hybrid journals, from 3333 publishers."
Please note this requires you to register as an individual - it is not an Oxford SSO related eresource.
There are special tools - not just SOLO's article search and google scholar! - to help you locate articles published in scholarly journals. Do make use of them!
To find articles published in journals with a legal/law student readership in mind, key online indexes are:
To widen search to journals with a social science readership in mind:
To widen search to journals with philosophers in mind:
Indexing tools on the free web
Abstracting (service):
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides abstracts of publications.
(Academic) Journal:
A regular publication of academic and research articles.
Bibliographic database:
A searchable platform that contains descriptive records of articles, books, conference proceedings, audio-visual material, maps, newspapers, and more.
Conference proceedings:
The published record of a conference.
Citation:
A quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work.
Full-text:
This means you can read the item in full from beginning to end, not just the abstract or summary.
Indexing (service):
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides descriptors to help organise and navigate publications.
Periodical:
A regular publication that includes articles, stories and other text. Magazines and newspapers are examples of these.
Platform:
This refers to the site on which you can find and access the journal.
Preprints:
Pre-publication version of articles. cf Version of Record.
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.
Version of Record (VoR) :
The fully published version, the most authoritative source of the text.
Working (research, discussion) papers:
Pre-publication not peer-reviewed versions of academic articles, book chapters, or reviews which are are in progress, under submission, or in press and forthcoming elsewhere.
BrowZine 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:
