"All that I see is an abstract, how do I find the actual article?"
Reading the article record within the database...
Look at the record and identify the name of the journal in which the article appears. Often it will be labeled "source", "journal", or "periodical." Periodicals are distinguishable from books because volume numbers and page numbers will be listed within the article record; they also have names with words like "journal", "bulletin", or "proceedings".
Sample record from an article database:
Title: A transactional perspective on transitions to new environments.
Author: Altman, Irwin
Source: Environment and Behavior. 1992 Mar; Vol 24(2):262-280.
ISSN: 0013-9165
Publication Year: 1992
Now what?
1) Copy the name of the journal
2) Open another browser window
3) Navigate to the Marriott Library homepage
4) Click on the Library Catalog and select the Journal/Title Exact tab
5) Paste the journal name into the search box
Reading the journal record within the library catalog...
If we subscribe to the journal (electronically or in print), a list of titles will be displayed. Locate the specific journal you are looking for and click on it. Scroll down to the subscription information to see if Marriott Library has the specific volume and issue that you need (as shown in image below).
To find this periodical, go to Level Two. Volume 24 of the journal has been bound in a hard cover and is shelved with the other books and journals on sociology.
An increasing number of journals are issued electronically. If the journal is available electronically, there will be a link displayed within the library catalog record for the journal. This will usually take you to a list of corresponding journal issues; click on the one you need and read/save/print the full-text. Sometimes the link will take you to the basic search page of another online database, and you will need to do a quick search for the article title.
"Why isn't the full-text available online for all articles?"
The major reasons are legal and economic. The original author and publisher invest effort and money when they issue a book or journal. They do not give you a paper copy for free, which makes sense why they do not give away the electronic version either.
"Why doesn't the University own everything listed in the databases?"
Short answer: money. The indexers list everything that might remotely be of interested to a researcher in a specific discipline; some of the material is very specialized, and only a few copies of it may exist in the entire world. It is just more efficient and cost-effective for libraries to specialize in certain regions or topics and lend material to each other.
"Why don't all of the databases work the same?"
The basic principles and structure are similar, but each database vendor has features that they think are useful for their particular databases.
"Can I get into these databases from home ?"
Yes. To access most of these indexes you must be using a computer on campus, or you must register with our proxy server. |
