Contemporary Fashion: Journals/Indexes/Databases

Indexes

If you have a research project, searching an index is a good place to start. An index helps you find links between theory, industry, and practice. Search for an artist, and find related works, artists, theories, etcetera.

Invaluable!

Databases

Many researchers go direct to subject specific databases to search for articles on their topic.  Have a mind map of keywords and combinations of keywords planned for your topic before you begin searching on any database.The main databases useful for Contemporary Fashion are listed here.

Journal Articles

Academic, Peer-Reviewed, Scholarly Journal articles relate to much the same thing, texts which have been put through a rigorous review by experts in the field of study. They are usually published weekly, monthly or seasonally. Some are scholarly and can be called "peer reviewed" or "refereed." An article is usually a short written piece or essay on a specific subject. These should be your primary source of research, and provide quality information.

Most journals and their articles are now electronic. A smaller number are only available in paper format.  Journal title holdings can be checked in ECU library search. Articles contained in the journals can be found by searching ECU library search and the databases and journal indexes listed in the A-Z Databases list.

Search tips: Use the limit options in the left hand side bar to refine your search. e.g. limit by date, format (book, journal, article etc), topic, etc. Alternatively, use the Advanced Search options to construct a more structured search string. 

Peer reviewed: Note that one of these options, under "Content" is "Peer Reviewed," which will return only scholarly content.

Note: Students should be aware of the ability to limit your search results to only those held at the ECU Library. You will find this limit option on the top left of your results screen. This will also return electronic materials we have access to.

Finding Journal Articles: This page details techniques for finding journal articles, but for select, subject-specific sources, see the subject tabs along the top of this guide.

Journals

Academic and Industry Journals are the best sources for your research.

For essays and reports, academic journals are best, however, for industry research and inspiration, industry sources are best. Find them via Art & Architecture Source and Design and Applied Arts Index, or browse print copies on the shelf!

Fashion journals are kept separately from the fashion books on level 3 of the Mount Lawley Campus Library, but use the same shelf numbering system (you can tell at a glance on the catalogue an item is a book or journal, as the journal is prefixed with an "S" for "Serial," eg S 391 for Fashion journals.

Here is an up to date list of ECU's fashion journal collections, both electronic and print with shelf numbers:

In Contemporary Fashion there are many industry and academic journals. Here are a selection: