Finding Journal Articles
There are a number of ways to access journal articles via Goldsmiths Library. These are described in greater detail below. For help using any of the databases listed below, please contact your subject librarian (contact details in the right hand column).
Library Search
Library Search is the quickest and easiest way to find a wide selection of Journal Articles on any given topic and will search across most of the journal collections and databases at Goldsmiths. Enter a few words or phrases into the main search bar, and you'll receive a set of results, which can be refined by various criteria, e.g. subject, Resource type, etc. Where available you can access the full text of any article in your search results by clicking on the title and following the link to the online resource under View Online in the pop up window.
Note about accessing content via Library Search: If you are on-campus, the content provider should know that you are a Goldsmiths user and provide access easily. If you are off-campus, you will need to sign-in as a Goldsmiths user. You might be deliberately prompted to sign-in, but if not, look for a sign-in option (usually at the top of the page). You will probably see a range of choices - look for either Institutional or Shibboleth log-in. You might then need to choose your region/university - after which you can enter your username and password to access the full-text.
However content from some of our databases and other online resources is not available via Library Search. Look for the coloured icons beneath each named database or Journal collection below to see whether its content is included in Library Search or not. Therefore when conducting a literature review you should always search individual databases too.
Journal Collections & Databases
For more in-depth searches such as when you are conducting a literature review it is a good idea to also use the subject specific Databases and Journal Collections. Databases have more capable search functionality, enabling you to control your searches better and find more relevant results. They are also often limited to specific subjects or disciplines meaning that they will return fewer results than a cross platform search tool like Library Search. In addition databases often contain a range of other academic literature in addition to journal articles and can therefore broaden the scope of your research.
Remember that the coverage of some databases subscribed to by Goldsmiths will include items that we do not have access to as part of our subscription. In these instances you should try searching for the article in Library Search to see if there is access via another of our subscriptions or via Senate House or you could try searching Google Scholar to see if there is a freely available version online. If you are still unable to locate the article you can request it using the Inter Library Loans Service.
- Social Sciences Premium Collection This link opens in a new windowThe Social Sciences Premium Collection is a tool for cross-searching a number of key sociology databases including the International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Social Science Database, Sociology Database, and Sociological Abstracts as well as databases in related fields e.g. the Criminology Collection, Education Collection, Linguistics Collection and Politics Collection.
In Library Search - Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window(1952 – current). Covers the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Indexes thousands of journal titles and also includes books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and working papers. Cited references are included for many journal articles.
Partially in Library Search - Web of Science (Primary Collection) This link opens in a new windowWeb of Science Primary Collection provides access to the world’s leading citation databases including the Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts and Humanities Citation Index.
Coverage includes current and retrospective journal and proceedings data in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Users should register an account to access additional features such as saved searches, email alerts and better file export options.
In Library Search - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
Academic Search Complete offers an enormous collection of full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, it includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more. Partially in Library Search - Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window(1952 – current). Covers the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Indexes thousands of journal titles and also includes books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and working papers. Cited references are included for many journal articles.
Partially in Library Search - PsycInfo This link opens in a new windowDatabase of abstracts of psychological literature in behavioural and social sciences from 1800s to the present. Particularly useful for criminology students.
Partially in Library Search - Religion Database This link opens in a new windowReligion Database provides a wide range of primarily full-text periodicals and other sources for diverse religious and spiritual studies, covering formal theological studies and commentary on topics of general interest from the perspectives of many worldwide religions. As well as scholarly journals there are many titles from religious publishing bodies and nondenominational organizations. The resource reflects a wide spectrum of religious belief systems and supports the global study of religion.
In Library Search - British Periodicals This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to the searchable full text of hundreds of periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth, comprising millions of high-resolution facsimile page images. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.
In Library Search - Philosophers Index This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
The Philosopher's Index is a bibliographic database with informative author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in the fifteen fields of philosophy, published in journals and books since 1940. Records cite journal articles, books, contributions to anthologies, and book reviews.
Serving philosophers worldwide, it contains over 600,000 records from publications that date back to 1902 and originate from 139 countries in 37 languages. The Index features high-quality content with complete and accurate citations, and author-written abstracts for most articles. Many of these abstracts cannot be found in other reference resources; they are unique to The Index.
Not in Library Search
- JSTOR Art and Sciences Collections I-XV This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths members have access to JSTOR Arts & Sciences collections I-XV. The collections provide access to an archival back run of each journal, often dating back to Vol.1. Current journals are subject to a "moving wall" of access between 2 and 5 years behind the most recently published issue.
Arts & Sciences journals archives is one of several JSTOR databases Goldsmiths have access to. See here for a full list.
In Library Search - Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new windowA huge collection of journals including many sociology and related subject titles.
In Library Search - Sage Journals Online This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths' subscription to selected e-journals includes a social sciences and humanities collection which covers a range of sociology topics.
In Library Search - The Open Library of Humanities This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths are proud to support The Open Library of Humanities. OLH is a not-for-profit, peer-reviewed open access, internationally supported, academic led mega-journal, multi-journal, overlay-journal & books platform for the humanities, with a focus on high-quality outputs. To avoid the problems of high article processing charge levels and their unaffordability in the humanities, the OLH implements a collaborative, or collective, funding model for gold open access in the humanities.
In Library Search - Duke University Press This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals.
In Library Search - Elsevier ScienceDirect Online This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to a selection of journals published by Elsevier, including former Academic Press titles, with some backfiles going back to 1997. We subscribe to journals in four subject collections: Computer Science, Neuroscience, Psychology and Social Sciences. [Full-text access is indicated by a green icon.]
Partially in Library Search - SpringerLink This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to over 1100 journals, mainly science technology and medicine but also including humanities, social sciences and computer science, with backfiles to 1997. We also have access to select ebook titles.
In Library Search
Individual Journal Titles
You can browse individual journal titles using Browzine our searchable online journal platform. Search for a relevant keyword or use the pre-defined subject areas to easily browse and read thousands of journals.
You can also use our journal A-Z to look for a specific journal you know of. This is also useful when trying to locate a specific article within a journal if you can't find it via Library Search.
Print Journals
We also have a small selection of journals which are only available as print journals. This includes older journals and a select few current journals which are unavailable electronically. Print journals cannot be borrowed, but articles can be photocopied. Use Library Search to find out how whether a journal is available in print or online and it's location.
