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• Introduction
  
  
• 1.1 Legal Journals & Periodicals
  
  
• 1.2 Why Search for Periodical Literature?
  
  
• 1.3 Locating Periodical Literature
  
  
• 1.4 Selecting a Periodical Index
  
  
• 1.5 The Two-Step Approach
  
  
• 1.6 Using an Electronic Periodical Database
  
  
• 1.7 Navigating the Library's e-Journal Collection
  
  
• 1.8 Tips & Tricks for Periodical Research
  
  
• Review and Conclusion
  
  

Journals and Periodicals – The Two-Step Approach

The Brian Dickson Law Library has a large collection of printed periodicals, most of which can be found on the 5th floor in the Periodicals section.

• The University of Ottawa Library Network offers a brief instructional page on how to locate periodical literature. It is available here.
• You should familiarize yourself with the location and arrangement of periodicals within the library.
• Try consulting a printed periodical index to learn how they work!

STEP 1: Locate and Record an Article's Citation

You may search a printed periodical index by:

• The Title of the Journal
  • If your research topic is sufficiently narrow, and you know the title of a potentially relevant journal, then it is sometimes more efficient to locate the periodical itself to leaf through its index or recent tables of contents.
• The Author or Title of the Article
  • Legal scholars typically have a particular area of specialty or interest. If you know the name of an author who writes frequently about a certain topic, try searching for articles by that author. Similarly, if you have found a great article, it is always worth searching for more literature written by that same author!
  • If you know the title of an article, the full citation can be found using a periodical index.
• The Subject
  • The subject index categorizes periodicals into different legal subject areas. However, the method of categorization differs from index to index.
  • The subject index is an excellent starting point because it will show you how legal subjects are categorized.
  • You can also browse the subject index for keywords to be used in subsequent electronic index searches.

STEP 2: Locate the Article using its Citation

Remember, many periodical indexes only provide article citations. Once you've found a useful citation, you must locate the actual article using its citation.

• Search the library catalogue using the title of the journal. This will tell you whether or not the periodical is available through the Brian Dickson Law Library.
  • If the journal is available in printed format, you can locate it using its call number.
  • If the journal is available electronically, then you will notice an icon. Click on this icon or follow the instructions to locate the full-text electronic version of the article.