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Library DIY for Online and Distance Students

A guide to getting started with Bradley library resources for students in online programs or studying at a distance.

Finding Specific Articles

Say you need to track down a specific article -  one that you saw mentioned in another article, or that someone has recommended to you. In order to track down the full-text, first make sure you have as complete a citation for the article as possible. That will make it easier for you to track down the article using one of the following options.

Use the Articles Search

The library catalog’s Article search can help you find a specific article using either the title of the article or the DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The DOI is like the ID number of the specific article. Not every article will have a DOI. Having a complete citation will let you know whether your article has a DOI or not.
You can use the Articles search either from the Articles tab on the library homepage search box:
 The search box under the Articles tab will return articles from a variety of databases (but not all of them).
Or, if you are already in the catalog, by choosing the "Articles" options from the dropdown menu after the catalog search box:
 It is also possible to switch to the Articles search from within the catalog.
If the article does not show up when you search for the title or DOI in this article search, you can try the other options listed below.
 

Check the Library's Journal Collection

 To search for a specific publication, first make sure you know the name of the publication (journal, magazine, or newspaper) that the article was published in. Then click the Journals A-Z link under Find, Borrow, Request on the library homepage. Do not be discouraged by this step if your article is from a publication that isn't a journal - if the library has it, you will still be able to find it here.

Once you have clicked on the Journals A-Z link, you will see a search bar labelled Journal Search. Type in the title of your publication here - we are not searching for the actual article yet. Hit search and then look in the list of results to see if the publication you are looking for is present. If your publication is listed and there is a link underneath labelled Available Online, click on the Available Online link to see your options for accessing that publication. 

If your publication does not show up, it means the library does not hold a subscription. If this happens, or if your desired publication is only available in print, you can ask a librarian for assistance in accessing it.

The publication will appear with its title, year where the library's coverage begins, and a link to its availability.

 

Once you have clicked on an access option under the View Online section, you will be taken to a menu  for your publication inside the database. Depending on which database the publication is stored in, there are different ways that this menu/screen will look. However, any database should allow you to either search within a specific publication, browse the publication by year, or both.

If you prefer to search and the option is available, search for the title of your article. Make sure the search box indicates that you are searching within the publication and not the database as a whole - there may be multiple search boxes in different places on the page. If you don't spot it in the results, try including the author's name in your search as well.

If the database hosting the publication allows it, it should indicate whether you are searching within the publication itself or the database as whole.

If there is not an option to search inside the specific publication, or if searching doesn't bring you what you want, you may be able to browse to the article. For this method, it's most helpful if you know the year that the article was published, as well as the date or the volume and issue number. Use this information to move through the browsing menu until you find your specific article.

Browsing info should also be available, usually as a nested list of years, volumes, and issues.

Look for a Copy in Google Scholar

If the library does not have access to a copy of your article, and it is from a scholarly journal, you can try to find a free version using Google Scholar. From within Google Scholar, search for as exact a version of the title as you can. Once you hit search and have results, make sure the article you are looking for has appeared. If it has, look to the right to see if there is  PDF or HTML link located there. If so, that means there is a copy freely available online. Click on the link to access it.

Google Scholar results indicate full text with a link on the right indicating file type and domain.

If there is no full-text link to the right, that means there is no free access to that article. If it's not in the library databases either (you can configure Google Scholar to find database articles as well), you may need to request it.

Request the Article Using ILL

If you configure Google Scholar to find database articles, you may see Get It @ Bradley links to the right of Google Scholar results, or Get Help @ Bradley links below results, hidden beneath an arrow. In library databases, when the full-text of an article is not available within the database, you may also see a Get It @ Bradley button. Any of these links or buttons will take you to the full-text or to a page where you can request an article to be sent to you.

The Get Help @ Bradley and Get It @ Bradley options will appear where the library can help access full text.

Once you have clicked on a Get It or Get Help link, you will see a screen with more options for accessing the article. Not every option will appear for every article. The possible options are:

  • Full Text Available - it turns out the full-text is available through the library and you can click here to get it!
  • BU Library can buy the article and deliver to your BU email in a few hours - before you click this option, make sure you have also looked for a free copy in Google Scholar and in our databases. If it's really not there, click this link, enter your email and we'll buy it for you. Checking Google Scholar and the databases first ensures that we don't have to pay again for an article we already own.
  • Search for a free copy in Google Scholar - if you haven't already searched Google Scholar, this is a handy link to do that.
  • ILLiad --- Interlibrary Loan - again for articles that are not available through the databases or Google Scholar, this sends a request on your behalf to other libraries who can provide you with a PDF copy via email. You will log in with your Bradley University username and password.

 

Finding a Specific Journal

If you're looking for articles from a specific journal, the Journals A-Z  list can tell you if the library provides access to it. To access this list, you can look for Journals A-Z under Find, Borrow, Replace on the library homepage. You can also go to the library catalog and look for the Journals Available option at the top.

Journals A-Z is also findable from the Find Borrow Request menu on the library homepage.

Either option will take you to the same page, which provides a search bar where you can type in the title or ISSN of the journal you are looking for.  After hitting the search icon, matching results will appear below the search box.

The publication if available will appear with title, year where library coverage begins, availability links, and a peer reviewed label if applicable.

 

Clicking on a title in the results list will open a window with links to article databases that contain articles from that journal. Different databases organize their content in different ways, but after clicking into one, you should have the option to search for a specific article or topic within the journal, browse the contents of it, or both. Make sure the option you select includes the years that you need article(s) from. If no option includes the correct year, ask a librarian for more options.

The View Online section may include links to multiple databases with full text options - check the years of coverage when selecting one.

 

Finding a Specific Book

If you are searching for a specific book, first make sure you have as much information about the book as possible, including not just the title but the author's name and year of publication. Then, make your way to the library catalog from the library homepage (the link is in the left-hand menu).

Once you have entered and signed into the catalog, type the title of your book into the search bar. If the title of the book is unique enough, this might be enough to bring up the book you need. 

Searching for the full title should return an easily identifiable result with a matching title, author info, and publication year.

If your book title is common or ambiguous, however, you may need to use advanced search to narrow it down. Find the Advanced Search link to the right of the search box.

Advanced search will let you specify where you would like your keywords to be found. You can specify to search for your title words only in the titles of works; you can also search for the author's name only in the author field. This can help find your specific book among others that have similar titles or descriptions.

Combining author and title searching with advanced search and the AND operator can help with tricky titles.

In this example, a simple search for "selected poems" brought back over 500 results, whereas an advanced search searching for a specific title and author brough back one result, which was the book in question.