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  2. Research Guides

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Introduction

There are, fortunately, many electronic resources for journal articles available to you as a Vanderbilt patron, and for journals we do not hold, our ILL staff are often able to quickly obtain the article from another institution.  In locating journal articles, I recommend searching resources in the following order:

  1. Google Scholar with VU Library Links Enabled:  With Vanderbilt Library search functions enabled (see Google Scholar tab in this guide), Google Scholar will search both open-access sources on the web and certain (not all) VU databases that contain journal articles, broadening the scope of content VU patrons can open in full-text PDF format.  If you do not locate the article in Google Scholar...
  2. Searching the Library Catalog by Article Title:  From the Advanced Search form in the library catalog, you can locate some journal articles using the article title.  If you do not locate the article in Google Scholar or when searching the Library Catalog by article title...
  3. Searching the Library Catalog by Journal Title:  Since not all databases or journals provide records at the article level that are searchable in the catalog, researchers will sometimes need to search first for the journal itself by title, identify available holdings, and browse electronic holdings using their citation information to find the particular article.
  4. Searching Databases Not Indexed in Catalog:  Some databases do not provide catalog record information for books and journals available to their subscribers, most notably the major legal research platforms: Westlaw, Lexis, & Bloomberg Law.  If you articles in these platforms are acceptable for source collection purposes and you believe may be available there, access and search each of those databases individually.
  5. Interlibrary Loan:  Use for articles not available in VU collections or on the web.  Our staff will provide articles received via ILL electronically in PDF format.

 

You may already be comfortable using Google Scholar to search for journal articles that are available via open-access sources.  Google Scholar also allows users to search content from up to 5 additional linked library sources, and adding Vanderbilt Libraries to your library settings will return content from certain journal collections hosted by Vanderbilt amongst your search results, including most content from HeinOnline (the most comprehensive source available for law journals in PDF format) and JSTOR, amongst others.  To enable this feature:

  • Select Library links > search for Vanderbilt > select all VU options > select Save.

 

Alternatively, you can use the Google Scholar link provided in the library's Database A-Z list.

If your Google Search search is unsuccessful, move to the Library Catalog to search by article or journal title.

Users can locate journal articles via the Library Catalog in two ways:

  1. Article Search
  2. Journal Search

Article Search

Because some (though not all) databases containing journal articles provide article-level records for use in library catalogs, you may first wish to search for an article by title using the title field in the Advanced Search screen.  See an example below:

When the journal is available electronically, you can select links in the catalog record and jump, in many cases, directly to the article within the database without further navigation.

Journal Search

Not all journal articles are indexed in a manner that allows them to be discovered in a library catalog, and article-level searching also sometimes fails to reflect recent changes in coverage by vendors (ex. when the vendor adds or eliminates years/volumes).  As such, users may opt or prefer to first search for the journal by title, and then browse available holdings to locate the individual article they seek.

To locate journals, select Journal Titles, and search for the journal by title.  Below is an example, searching for Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law.

Print and electronic holdings will be reflected in the catalog record.  In browsing electronic holdings, make note of the scope of coverage indicated for the journal holdings in a particular database to be sure that the issue you seek is available via that source.  (Vendors often differ in their scope of coverage.)  Use available citation information to browse to the issue and article you seek.

Many open-access sources for journal articles are indexed in Google Scholar.  Consider, as well, a few other sources:

  • SSRN:  This leading source for open-access articles posted by social science scholars is also well-utilized by law faculty.  Access requires individual credentials, but anyone can create a free account.  Some law articles are posted in draft format, while others are provided in final published format with the publishing journal's permission.
  • The journal's website:  Many law and academic journals now provide digitized copies of certain issues on their websites.
  • Scholarship repositories for the author's institution:  Many colleges and universities maintain online repositories hosting their faculty's scholarship.  See, for example, Scholarship@VanderbiltLaw.

These resources may be particularly useful for recently published articles that are not yet available in journal databases, or for recent issues for which the full-text articles are embargoed by the vendor (HeinOnline, for example, embargoes full-text content from certain journals for a period of 2-3 years).

Though you will find many articles available in our electronic collections (and sometimes in print), or on the web, you will sometimes need to request an article via ILL--see Using Interlibrary Loan.  This is especially true for foreign journals. For articles, include in your ILL request all available citation information, including the journal title, article title, author, volume information, and page range.  Articles are typically provided electronically in PDF format and sent to the requesting staff member via email.  (Though you should request articles using the VJTL ILL Account, including your own name and email in the notes field so that our staff can then send requested articles to you directly.)

Members of the VU community are eligible to create free individual New York Times, Wall Street Journal , and Financial Times digital accounts (as well as the Nashville Business Journal and Chronicle of Higher Education).  To sign up, see the instructions provided for each publication in the "News Desk" menu below the catalog search bar on the law library home page. 

  

 

Many newspapers and magazines are also available in major databases available at VU, including resources from ProQuest, Gale, Factiva, and Nexis.  Like journals, VU patrons can search for individual articles and for publications from the library catalog.  Some individual articles are discoverable via the catalog, but some are not.  If a search for an article by title yields no results, search instead for the publication, and browse available holdings, considering scope of coverage in selecting a particular vendor's version of a publication.

 

For more information concerning news sources available at Vanderbilt, see the below guides.  The "More News" guide offers links to major international newspapers.