Legal Citations – Periodical Abbreviations
Before you can properly cite periodical literature, you must become familiar with the abbreviated periodical titles.
- Many periodicals have lengthy titles that, if included in full in a citation, would simply take up too much space in the footnote section of a page.
- Moreover, the journal article titles themselves tend to be fairly lengthy as well.
- So, for citation purposes, the titles of periodicals are usually abbreviated.
EXAMPLE: The American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law is abbreviated to Am UJ Gender Soc Pol'y & L.- Thus, the citation for an article from this legal journal is made less lengthy and cumbersome by using the abbreviated title. Abbreviated titles are also very helpful when searching for journal articles electronically. They are recognized by many of the leading legal research databases which makes the retrieval of journal articles particularly easy to do!
Of course, nobody expects you to memorize these abbreviations! (Though you will begin to remember some of the more common abbreviations.) So where can you find them?
- Appendix D of the McGill Guide lists a large number of periodical publications and their respective abbreviations.
- At the Brian Dickson Law Library, we maintain a binder of all the journals, law reporters, and bound statutes that we keep in the library. This includes the abbreviations used for each and can be found in the reference area.
- The Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a website published by Cardiff University (be sure to bookmark it in your web browser!), which indexes the names and abbreviations of a vast offering of legal periodicals and publications.
- Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations [REF KF 246 .B54 1988] is another useful source.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You should always consult the McGill Guide first to find an abbreviation. This form of abbreviation is preferred at law school.