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Education: research guide: Journals and Conference Proceedings

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.

A conference proceeding is a published record of a conference and is a good way to learn about leading edge research.

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

Definitions

Terms you may encounter in your research

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.

Conference proceedings:
The published record of a conference.

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.

Already know which article you want?

If you already have the reference for an article, search for the title and one or two of the author surnames in SOLO.

This is useful to check a partial reference, or find an article you know exists.

If the article you want does not appear email us education.library@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for help.

Browse online journals

Google Scholar - search tips

If you are on a library computer or using the University's VPN you will notice that some results show a FindIt@Oxford link on the right where you also often see links to open access versions of the paper.

This is because the Bodleian Libraries have shared information about our subscriptions with Google in order to make your access easier. To ensure you see the FindIt@Oxford links wherever you are, sign in to Google and set up the University of Oxford in your Library Links within Settings.

Using Google Scholar to search Oxford's journal subscriptions

Using Google Scholar to search Oxford's ejournals

If you are used to using Google Scholar, you can make it work harder for you by adding a Find it @ Oxford button - this will search SOLO for our subscriptions and give you direct access to paywalled journal articles.

You can also read a transcript of the video or follow instructions in Powerpoint.

Finding conference papers and proceedings

  • Education databases, such as ERIC and the British Education Index, also include some conference papers.

  • Web of Science includes conference proceedings for social sciences & humanities from 1990 to present