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,
Holders of an Oxford SSO have access to many English language law journals via the following databases.
But there will be other journals which are (at least for part of their run) available via other platforms.It is worth searching SOLO: we recommend using the Advanced Search screen, and changing the Resource type to Journals before doing a search. SOLO will not understand the abbreviations used in citations of law journals. Use the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations to expand the abbreviation to the full - title. In other words to find our holdings (in print and onlline) for an MLR citation you need to ask SOLO to find Modern Law Review. Please ask at the Enquiry Desk if you are having any problems.
Tip for SOLO results for journal searches
It is quite common for an ejournal to be supplied by more than one database. Usually this is because no single provider has the whole run of the journal from the first volume to the most recent. Consequently, if you are looking for a particular article take care to select the database which includes the volume/year of your citation - this will not necessarily be the first on the list of alternatives.
Available on the free web
Law journals with a focus on English/UK law are shelved on Level 2, the level at which you enter the Library.
Some specialist titles are
Cw UK 300 E41.5 Employment law journal
Cw UK 300 I2 IDS employment law brief
Cw UK 300 I15 Industrial law journal
Shelf mark beginning
General 300
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 1; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
For example: General 300 I124.5 International journal of comparative labour law & industrial relations ( IJCCLIR)
With the name of non-European foreign jurisdictions
Journal issues from and including 2000 are on Level 1; older issues up to and including 1999 are on the Ground Floor.
For example: Cw Austral 300 A26.5 Australian journal of labour law (AJIL)
Note: journals from the ILO will be in Official Papers collection 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.
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
There are too many for any list to be comprehensive. If you are studying a particular legal topic, or a foreign jurisdiction, it may well be worth considering which law firms have gained a distinguished reputation in the same topic/jurisdiction, they may well have partners/practitioners posting news and comment.
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.
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).
