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6 Access Full Text
When searching in a database or discovery layer, you’ll notice that clicking on the title of one of your search results doesn’t usually take you straight to the full article. Instead, you’ll usually see a page with information about the resource; this page is called the record. In this chapter, you’ll find out how to access the full text of a resource, what format to view it in, and how to get access to a resource that is not available through your library.
Tips
Before you begin the chapter, take a look at these top tips for accessing full text.
- Click the full text link to read the full article.
You won’t usually see the full article when you click on the title of a resource in your search. You will need to open the article by clicking the full text link. - Choose the right format for your needs.
The full text may be available in more than one format. If you can choose, open the full text in PDF format if you want to save or print it, and open the full text in HTML format if you want the article to resize to fit the width of your browser window. - Request access to resources that aren’t available through your library.
If you want to access a specific resource, but it’s not available at your library, you can ask about an interlibrary loan to gain access through another library.
Important Term Used in this Chapter
Introduction
When you first click on the title of a result in your search, you won’t see the actual text of the article. Instead, you’ll see a page called the record, which will have information about the author, the journal title, the abstract, and more. From the record, you can do the following:
- Read the record for information about the resource. The record should give you enough information to decide whether the resource will be useful to you.
- Click a link to see the full article (this is what we call the full text).
Explore the content below for information about the following aspects of accessing the full text of articles:
- Opening the full text from the record
- Choosing the format for viewing the full text, if you have more than one option (HTML or PDF)
- Requesting an interlibrary loan to access resources that aren’t available through your library
How to Open Full Text
Once you have opened a record, you will need to click on a link to open the full text. Records in different search interfaces will have links in different places. Watch the video and read the information below to find out where to find the full text link in various search interfaces. You can also read the video transcript.
Explore the information below to see where to access full text in CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar.
Choosing a full text format
The full text of an article may be available in different formats: HTML, PDF, or both. The content of the article is exactly the same between the PDF and HTML versions. Here is some information about each format.
- PDF: This is the most common format for full text articles. It’s great for saving the article to your computer or for printing it. PDF articles may appear in your browser, or you can open them in software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- HTML: HTML is the same format used on most websites. An HTML article will appear in your browser. In some databases, the HTML full text will appear on the page below the record (see Figure 5), while other databases will have a link to the HTML full text.
How do I choose?
- If you want to save or print the article, choose PDF.
- If you want to quote the source, choose PDF to get a page number for your citations.
- If you want the text to flow and resize to fit the size of your screen (especially on mobile devices), choose HTML.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Regardless of which search interface you’re using, you may find a record for an article that interests you, but you can’t access the full text. If this happens, contact your library and ask whether they can help you get a copy of the full text.
Accessing a resource from another library is known as an interlibrary loan (ILL); your library may not use that name, but most college libraries offer an ILL service. The library staff can request a copy of the full text from another library, which they can then provide to you. The article may arrive in just a couple of days, but it could take a week or more, so be sure to start your searching long before your assignment is due. Typically, the library would send you the article as a PDF.
Test Your Knowledge Activity
- For attributions, please see the Attributions page in the table of contents. ↵
Full text is the complete content of an article or other resource. When you find an article through a search interface, you will typically first arrive at a record, and then click through to the full text. Full text is usually available in PDF or HTML format.
Interlibrary loan (ILL) is the process that allows library staff to request a copy of the full text of an article or other resource from another library. Many libraries allow students to request articles via ILL.
A record in a database or other search interface contains information about an article, such as the names of the authors, the title of the journal, the abstract, and more. In order to use the article for an assignment, you will need to go from the record to the full text.
