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Journal Cite Checking Guide: Journal Articles

This guide is intended to assist journal members in locating print, PDF, or page image versions of cited materials for sourcing assignments.

Introduction

This page includes tips and sources for retrieving both law review articles and non-law journal articles. While Lexis Advance and Westlaw might seem to be the most obvious choices for locating journal articles, these services have two significant drawbacks: first, they only rarely provide page numbering from the original; second, their coverage for journals only goes back to 1980 for most titles.

Using the Library Catalog to Locate (non-law) Journal Articles

The LUC Library Catalog is where you'll find a record of every book, e-book, set of books, and journal (by title) in LUC libraries. The Library Catalog also provides access to many but not all titles that LUC provides access to via subscription databases. 

If you are looking to see if Loyola provides access to an article, the first place to look is the Library Catalog. The best way to search is to go to the advanced search screen, then choose title from the first-dropdown box and enter the article title (or pertinent keywords).  Make sure that you are searching under the "Books, Articles & more" to ensure that you search all LUC libraries. This search will search through most of the databases available at LUC. If that doesn't work, expand your search by looking for the title of the journal itself.  This search will pick up any print or electronic journal titles that don't appear in any of the indexed databases.

Library Catalog Search Box

 

Advanced Search

Locating Law Review and Journal Articles

Try these steps/sources in the order presented.

  1. HeinOnline
    HeinOnline contains more than 2,000 law and law-related periodicals in PDF format. Coverage is from the first issue published for all periodicals and goes through the most-currently published issues allowed based on contracts with publishers. Search by citation or browse for the journal title and then narrow by volume and page number.
     
  2. LUC Library Catalog
    The Library may own specialized legal journals that do not appear in HeinOnline.  If you can't find a journal in Hein, search the Library Catalog for the title of the journal, not by title of the article. Almost all the Library's law journals are located in alphabetical order on the 4th floor of the Library. Specialized journals may also be indexed in the LUC LIbraries databases, so make sure you search the entire LUC Libraries collection and not just the Law Library collection.
     
  3. Google and Google Scholar
    You can use a search engine to look for the Journal's website. Some journals make PDF copies freely available. It is unlikely, but Google Scholar may point you to a PDF copy as well, especially if the journal is online-only.
     
  4. Obtain from another Library
    No luck so far? Check WorldCat to see what libraries own the journal and order it via interlibrary loan (ILL). If one of the local law libraries or Chicago Public Library has the journal, it may be easier to make a trip across town to get a copy of the page(s) you need rather than waiting an indefinite period of time to receive a copy via ILL.
     
  5. Ask a Reference Librarian
    If all else fails, ask our reference librarians for help. There are many obscure journals with hard-to-locate articles, and often it turns out that what an author is citing to is not, in fact, a journal. We can help with all of that.

 

Locating Non-law Journal Articles

LUC students have access to thousands if not tens of thousands of journals in the fields of health, business, education etc. Many of these titles are owned by University Libraries as individual titles, but many many more reside in databases University Libraries provides access to. It may be necessary to check both. Here's a good way to locate articles from titles other than law journals and law reviews.

  1. LUC Library Catalog
    First, search for the title of the article in the Library catalog. The Library catalog indexes articles from most, but not all, of the subscription database that University Libraries subscribe to, so there is a good chance that you can locate an article this way. The best way to search is to go to the Advanced Search box and search by title, but a basic search for words in title is usually effective.
     
  2. Loyola Journals List
    The Library catalog indexes most, but all of the titles that the University Libraries provide access to. If the title of an article does not appear in a search of the Library catalog, go to the University Libraries A-Z Journal List and look up the title of the journal there. This list provides access to journals both online and print. University Libraries maintain print copies of many journals that do not appear in databases.

  3. Ulrichs Periodical Directory
    Unfortunately, not all journals contained in all Loyola's databases are listed in the A-Z Journal list. If you still haven't located a journal at this point, you might want to search for the journal in Ulrich's to see if that journal is indexed in an online periodical directory / database. If so, you can then search for the directory / database via LUC's database list and then search within the database for the journal and article you seek.
     
  4. Google and Google Scholar
    If you cannot locate a PDF copy of the journal through University Libraries, as above, you can use a search engine to look for the Journal's website. Some journals make PDF copies freely available. Google Scholar may point you to a PDF copy as well.

  5. Obtain from another Library
    If you haven't had any luck so far, check WorldCat to see what libraries own the journal and order it via IILIAD (interlibrary loan). If one of the local law libraries or Chicago Public Library has the journal, it may be easier to make a trip across town to get a copy of the page(s) you need rather than waiting an indefinite period of time to receive a copy via ILL.

  6. Ask a Reference Librarian
    If you can't find the article after taking these steps, contact a reference librarian. We have other tricks that go beyond the scope of this research guide.

Subject Guide