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Civil and Structural Engineering: Journal articles / papers

Finding journal articles and research papers

What are journal articles? Example of a journal cover page: Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science

A journal is a specific type of academic publication. Like magazines, new parts of journals are published regularly throughout the year. Typically this could be monthly, biannually (twice a year) or quarterly (every three months). Each part of a journal is referred to as a journal "issue". Individual journal issues are often grouped together into annual journal "volumes".

Every journal issue contains a collection of articles, which are short pieces of academic writing. Articles are written by academics from universities and other research institutions and they provide information about current research.

Finding journal articles:

If you want to do a quick and simple search for journal articles, use Library Search or an ejournal package such as Science Direct, the ICE Virtual Library or the ASCE Research Library. They will usually allow you to access the articles online immediately.

If you want to do a comprehensive search of the research literature, you should use one or more of the key databases (on the next tab of this guide) instead. The databases cover many more articles and offer better search features.

Ejournal packages

The following e-journal packages are all useful for finding and accessing articles and papers on civil, structural and environmental engineering:

To find a specific e-journal, please check the Library's Journal Search:

Alternatively, you can search Library Search. This can save you time, as Library Search searches many of the university's subscribed e-journals simultaneously.  

Hardcopy journals

If you can't access an article online, this could be because the university doesn't subscribe to the e-journal in which it was published. In that case, check if the library holds the journal in printed format (also known as "hardcopy"). This is often the case for older journals.

Search for the journal title (not the article title) on Library Search. If the library holds the journal in printed format, Library Search will show you its location and the shelfmark. If you are not sure where to find the journal, please ask for help at one of the Enquiry Desks.

Please note:

  • Hardcopies of engineering journals published from 1981 to the present are shelved in the Journals Area on Floor 3 of the McClay Library.
  • Journal volumes which were published before 1981 are kept in the Library Store. Please ask at the Customer Service Desk on the ground floor of the McClay Library if you wish to consult any of them.

Printed journals are shelved on mobile shelving. The video below shows how you can operate the mobile shelves. If you would like help with this, please ask at one of the Enquiry Desks:

Off-campus access

Signing in to e-journals from home:

The library's e-journals and databases can be accessed both on and off-campus.

When you are working from off-campus, please follow the links to e-journals from this guide or from Library Search. This will enable you to sign in with your QUB credentials and access e-journals.

If you have queries about accessing e-journals or other e-resources from home, please contact your subject librarian, Irene Bittles (email: i.bittles@qub.ac.uk)

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