When you're searching in a library database, you will usually have some search results that come with full text, and other search results that have only citation information and an abstract.
The search results page will guide you to full text for each article, if we have it. Underneath the article's title and abbreviated citation information, you will see one or more of the following:
- Get PDF - this is the most print-friendly option, and it usually preserves any graphics found in the print publication.
- Read Online - this option is best if you are using a screen reader, but it is not formatted like an article from a print publication
- Go to Full-Text - this will take you to any full-text options in another one of our databases
- Get It - this will take you to options to obtain the article/chapter from somewhere other than our library, including interlibrary loan; items obtained via our interlibrary loan service will usually be emailed to you within 1-2 days.
Occasionally, these full-text options will take you to results for the journal that published the article, but not the article itself. This can mean a few things:
- The article is quite recent. Some publishers do not make their articles available online until they've been available in print for anywhere between 6 months and 3 years, usually 1 year; these are called publisher embargoes. So if you want an article from the January 2023 issue, you may have to wait until January 2024 for it to appear in the database, or track down a library with a print copy of the journal issue, using WorldCat.org.
- We have full text for that journal, but the article in question was only published in an online (versus library subscription) edition. You'll have the option to request these via interlibrary loan, but you may also wish to check the online edition to see if they offer free access to articles; sometimes, publishers will make offers such as one free article if you sign up for emails from them.
