Journals are short-form academic literature. They are published relatively quickly (compared to books) so are an up-to-date form of academic literature.
Articles present new research, comment on new law, propose law reform, and generate academic debate in their discipline.
Articles are generally academic essays, but may also include case comments, legislation comments, and book reviews.
Journals are peer reviewed which is a process of academic quality control. Articles are reviewed by other academics (peers) prior to publication to validate research
For items not available in the library, use our document supply service to get articles, books, chapters and request postal loans.
To request journal articles (where we d not have full-text access to the journal title), go to Get It For Me, click on Articles and complete the request form providing as much bibliographic information as possible.
The library will endeavour to provide a digital copy of the article from another provider.
Lexis+ UK
Lexis+ UK is a key legal research database from Lexis Nexis, including UK and EU primary and secondary sources of legal information, and practical legal guidance.
Lexis+ UK includes Journals Index *PLUS* which indexes 500+ law journals, magazines and blogs published from 1995 to date. It focuses on UK law, but also covers European and International law. Lexis+ UK includes selected full-text journal articles including LexisNexis and Jordans published journal titles.
Westlaw UK
Westlaw UK is a key legal research database from Thomson Reuters, including UK and EU primary and secondary sources of legal information.
Westlaw UK includes the Legal Journals Index which indexes 800+ law journals published from 1986 to date. It focuses on UK law, but also covers European and International law. Westlaw UK includes selected full-text journal articles including Sweet & Maxwell published journal titles.
HeinOnline
HeinOnline is a legal research database from William S Hein, including foreign and international primary and secondary sources of legal information.
HeinOnline includes the Law Journal Library, featuring 3,200 full-text law journals with strong North American coverage, and the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals which indexes 800+ law journals across the world, with a strong focus on foreign and comparative law.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books is an index and abstract database from H.W. Wilson. It indexes 1,000+ law journals and book reviews published worldwide from 1982, with a focus on North American law, but also including UK, Irish, Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions.
Kluwer Arbitration
Kluwer Arbitration is a specialist legal research database for international arbitration from Wolters Kluwer. It features full-text books and journals on arbitration including Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management.
[Due to login difficulties, access is currently via individual username and password]
Legal Scholarship Network
Legal Scholarship Network (LSR) is part of the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) an open access database of pre-prints and working papers showcasing the latest research from legal scholars and law schools across the world.
The following databases are all multidisciplinary, covering the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences (with strong coverage of the sciences). They can be a good choice for those undertaking interdisciplinary research.
They are index and abstract only databases and do not carry full-text journal articles. They index articles from only the highest ranked academic journals, and evaluate authors, articles and journals using citation metrics and altmetrics.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a scholarly search engine from Alphabet (Google). It locates articles, books and other academic literature, providing links to full-text literature and citation metrics. It also profiles academic authors showing publication lists and their citation metrics (h-index).
Advanced Search functionality is available from the Menu. Library Links (Warwick Access) improves access to full-text literature (Menu > Settings > Library Links > Warwick). Google Scholar also has a strong collection of full-text United States federal and state case law.
Scopus
Scopus is an academic search engine from Elsevier. It indexes articles from 30,000 scholarly journals from 1970 to date, and also contains book reviews and conference papers. Scopus uses citation metrics to measure authors, articles and journals.
Use the Documents tab to find articles, the Authors tab to view author profiles, the Sources tab to evaluate journals, and the Organizations tab to view research across an institution.
To learn more about Scopus, join Scopus Academy and complete the online training and certification course for researchers.
Web of Science
Web of Science is an academic search engine from Clarivate. It indexes articles from 34,000 scholarly journals, and also contains book reviews and conference papers.
Web of Science is multidisciplinary but with broader coverage of the arts, humanities and social sciences. It includes the Social Sciences Citation Index (1900-date), Emerging Sources Citation Index (2005-date), Conference Proceedings Citation Index (1990-date) and Book Citation Index (2005-date).
Use the Documents tab to find articles, the Researchers tab to view author profiles, and Journal Citation Reports (in Products menu) to evaluate journals. If using Journal Citation Reports, select Login via Institution > UK Federation > University of Warwick.
To learn more about Web of Science, access the Web of Science Training Platform, and enrol on the Web of Science Essentials training and certification course.
The following databases are specialist in other disciplines which may be allied to legal scholarship. If you are undertaking interdisciplinary research, you may find they offer useful alternative perspectives to the academic literature.
ABI/INFORM Global
ABI/INFORM Global is an academic search engine indexing journals related to business, economics, finance and management.
APA PsycInfo
PsycInfo is an academic search engine from the American Psychological Association indexing 2,400+ journals, books and dissertations in psychology including psychiatry and behavioural science.
ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts
ASSIA is an academic search engine indexing 500+ journals related to social care including health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics and politics.
Business Source Ultimate
Business Source Ultimate is an academic search engine which indexes 4,300+ journals in business, economics, finance, management and marketing, with 3,500 journals in full-text. It also includes case studies, company and industry profiles, market research reports and SWOT analyses, and country economic reports.
EconLit
EconLit is an academic search engine indexing 1,000+ journals in economics and finance, using the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification scheme. It includes full-text articles from 600+ journals, including publications of the American Economics Association (AEA).
International Political Science Abstract
International Political Science Abstract is an academic search engine from the International Political Science Association indexing 500+ journals on politics and international relations.
Ovid MEDLINE
Ovid MEDLINE is an academic search engine indexing 5,600+ journals in biomedicine including medicine, nursing, dentistry and health care, using the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) classification scheme.
Philosophers Index
Philosophers Index is an academic search engine from the Philosopher's Information Centre indexing 600+ journals in philosophy.
PhilPapers
PhilPapers is an open access academic search engine of books and journals in philosophy. It also offers a bibliography and current awareness service.
Sociological Abstracts
Sociological Abstracts (including Social Services Abstracts) is an academic search engine indexing journals, books and dissertations in sociology including social policy, social welfare and social work.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts is an academic search engine indexing 2,500+ journals from politics and international relations.
In law, journal articles are referenced using a legal citation. The legal citation is a combination of numbers and letters:
[(Year)] | Volume | Abbreviation | First page
(2011) 11 LIM 221
The abbreviation is the official short form of the journal title e.g. LIM = Legal Information Management.
The year is in (round brackets) if the journal has a volume number, or [square brackets] if the journal does not have a volume number.
The page number is only the first page (the end page is not required).
Do you need help understanding legal citations and abbreviations?
Cardiff Index to
Legal Abbreviations
You can find official legal abbreviations using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations. You can search by abbreviation (to find the title) and title (to find the abbreviation.
Washington & Lee
Law Journal Rankings
Annual list of law journals compiled by Washington and Lee University Law Library. Enables librarians and researchers to identify leading law journals for the purpose of publishing articles. Focuses on US law journals but also covers UK law journals.
Discover a range of library and study skills guides including how to study law, how to think critically, and how to write law essays and prepare for examinations.
Discover how to avoid plagiarism, how to use the OSCOLA legal referencing style, and how to manage references with EndNote referencing software.
Discover how to find legislation, case law, and journal articles using law databases, including Doing Legal Research moodle and Lexis+ UK and Westlaw Edge UK database training and certification courses.
