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English Language and Literature: 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 relevant journals and periodicals, and guidance on how to search for and access print and ejournals.

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.

Finding journal articles

You can search for journal articles via SOLO, if you use the 'Articles' option. You can refine a regular search to articles only via the 'resource type' filter.

If you're interested in searching for articles on a particular topic, it's best to use a bibliographic database like the MLA International Bibliography or ABELL - see the Bibliographic Databases page of this guide for more information.

Electronic journals (e-journals)

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

The tab at the top of this box lists key ejournals relevant to the study of English Language and Literature.

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.

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

Some ejournals 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.

Physical journals

The tabs at the top of this box list Oxford University libraries with print journals of interest to those studying English Language and Literature. 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:

The Bodleian library's extensive collections include many print journals relevant to English Language and Literature. All journal titles can be found via SOLO (using Advanced Search and choosing 'Journals' in the 'Resource Type' menu will refine your search).

Most of the Bodleian Library journals are kept off-site in the storage facility. Journal issues or volumes can be called over to a library reading room via SOLO (there are daily deliveries to most Bodleian Libraries reading rooms). A scan of an individual article can requested via the Libraries Scan & Deliver service.

The Bodleian's Upper Reading Room accommodates a display of current issues of major English Language and Literature journals. The Gladstone Link also has runs of selected Humanities print journals.

There are hard copy runs of selected key periodicals for English on the lower floor of the EFL, including ELH: English Literary History, English Studies, English Literary Renaissance, Modernism/Modernity, Shakespeare Survey, Studies in the Age of Chaucer, and more.

The EFL also has a collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century periodicals, such as All the Year Round, the Edinburgh Review, the Cornhill Magazine, the Quarterly Review, Bentley's Miscellany, and more. Many of the EFL's nineteenth-century periodicals are digitised and can be accessed via SOLO. Physical volumes are held on closed access and can be requested for viewing in the reading room.

Historical periodicals and newspapers

See below for collections of historic newspapers and periodicals. Individual titles can also be found via SOLO.

For more newspapers, see the Newspapers category of Databases A-Z, or search SOLO for individual titles

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).

Journal articles via inter-library loans

If you are looking for a particular journal article which is not in the Bodleian Libraries, we may be able to source it through Oxford's inter-library loan service.

Browzine

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:

Tables of contents and alerts