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
Articles of interest may also be published in "generalist" law journals. The major providers of these for holders of an Oxford SSO are:
Finding Open Access journals, articles, pre-prints and working papers:
IsLR: Israel Law Review Israel 300 I30
JLA: The Jewish Law Annual [incomplete] Jewish J59a
RHD: Revue historique de droit français et étranger France 300 R210
RIDA: Revue internationale des droits de l'Antiquité 3e ser.:t.1(1954)-t.46(1999); Ancient Gen 300 R20
NB Journals which you may have expected to be in the Law Bod, but are elsewhere ...
DI: Dine Yiśraʼel Leopold Muller Memorial Library
ZAR: Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library First Floor R.x.82a
Please ask a member of staff for directions when you visit the Law Bod.
Remember: legal developments may well be the subject of articles in law journals published in other jurisdictions.
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!
Indexing tools on the free web
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.
Some of the journals you may need to consult are listed below - use the full title to search SOLO, and be prepared to visit other libraries in Oxford!
BA: Biblical Archaeologist
BDD: Journal of Torah & scholarship
BZ: Biblische Zeitschrift
CBQ: Catholic Biblical Quarterly
E-I: Eretz-Israel
HTR: Harvard Theological Review
HUCA: Hebrew Union College Annual
JAAR: Journal of the American Academy of Religion
JAOS: Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL: Journal of Biblical Literature
JESHO: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
JJS: Journal of Jewish Studies
JNES: Journal of Near Eastern Studies
JNSL: Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages
JQR: Jewish Quarterly Review
JSJ: Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period
JSOT: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSS: Journal of Semitic Studies
NTS: New Testament Studies
PAAJR: Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research
PAOJS: Proceedings of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists
RA: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale
RB: Revue Biblique
RQ: Revue de Qumran
Shenaton: Shenaton Ha-mishpat Ha-ivri
TL: Theologische Literaturzeitung
TZ: Theologische Zeitschrift
U-F: Ugarit-Forschungen
VT: Vetus Testamentum
VTS: Supplement to Vetus Testamentum
ZAW: Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZNW: Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
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.