Journals and Periodicals – Locating Periodical Literature: Using the Periodical Indexes
Periodical Indexes
A periodical index is intended to help researchers locate relevant periodical articles.
- These indexes compile and arrange thousands of articles by subject, author, and title.
- There are printed periodical indexes and electronic periodical indexes (often referred to as "databases").
Printed periodical indexes are generally published on a quarterly basis with a cumulative volume published annually.
- However, most of the printed periodical indexes are now accessible online in electronic format.
Full-Text Articles
Many of the legal journals themselves are available online in electronic format. These are accessible online through various commercial and subscription services.
- Many of these databases let you execute full-text searches.
- LexisNexis/Quicklaw and Westlaw Canada offer searchable databases containing full-text articles from a large number of periodicals.
- HeinOnline is another online service that houses a significant collection of law-related and interdisciplinary periodicals.
CAVEAT: While the benefits of searching for periodical literature electronically are numerous (i.e. efficiency, keyword searches, etc.), the primary drawback is that only a small number of law journals are actually available in full-text online.
- Unless you learn how to locate the hard-copy of an article using its citation, you risk overlooking vital periodical literature!