Similar to a library catalog's listing of books, a journal index is a listing of articles that appear in journals, newsletters, and magazines. Some legal journal indexes also include tables that list articles by statute or case name. The index listing includes bibliographic information about the article, including journal name, article title, author, volume, issue, page number and date, as well as one or more subject descriptors.
Using a journal index database can be more effective than using a full-text database because the search is done only in the bibliographic information and the subject descriptors(ie: securities and disclosure), therefore, the results are more relevant to that subject. The subject descriptors for an article are very important for research, for once a useful article is identified, similar articles can be found by searching the same subject terms found in the first article.
Use the Finding Articles by Citation page to see how to find articles in the Library's collection.
Williams Library subscribes to the major legal journal indexes, and many that are non-legal. Additionally, access to the majority of indexes available at the main university library, Lauinger Library,
Williams Law Library and Lauinger Library provide access to multiple subject-specific article databases and indexes. The pages listed on the left will guide you to specific databases and indexes that are frequently used in conjunction with legal databases. Also, refer to the Lauinger Library's research guides, organized by academic subjects, which will identify the specific databases for that topic. The databases and indexes provided by the Williams Law Library are organized by name of the database.