Guide to Finding Law Journals and Journal Articles

Welcome to the Bora Laskin Law Library's guide to effectively researching journals and journal articles.

Journal articles are a very important part of your research. Like other secondary resources (e.g., books and encyclopedias), they usually provide commentary on the law. They are essential to locating and understanding the law. They are usually written by experts and often refer to relevant case law or legislation in the text or footnotes. Although work published in journals can sometimes influence the law, it is important to bear in mind that only primary sources (the Constitution, legislation, civil codes and cases) have the force of law.

Journal indexes are finding tools that enable you to locate articles by author, title, subject, etc. Some online indexes may provide access to the full-text. Most journal indexes are available online from the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL).

A large percentage of full-text law journal articles are available online through databases such as Westlaw Edge Canada, Lexis Advance Quicklaw, and HeinOnline. For more information on these resources consult the Full-text Databases page of this guide.