How can students find
full-text journal articles online with a topic?
What easy-to-use databases offer a large percentage of full-text
articles?
How can students find and
retrieve an article from a citation that they are given or that
they
have found in a citation-only database?
How can
I view only the NSU journals that are held in the online format?
How should students document
their online materials?
Activity
Students can find full-text journal articles online by visiting any NSU database with full-text availability. Two popular student choices for assignments are WilsonWeb or ProQuest databases. Although not entirely 100% full-text, both providers offer many databases with the full-text documents. The citations in the databases may have the entire article attached in HTML or PDF format.
Some students may like full-text articles so much they will only use an article if it can be obtained in the full-text format online. This is wonderful, provided the student reviewed all of his or her options (both non-electronic and electronic) before choosing a full-text document. There is no need to elaborate on what might happen if all NSU education students used only the full-text databases; especially considering that less that 50% of the articles available to NSU education students are in the full-text format. Papers would undoubtedly become biased. Please encourage students to consider a citation for any article they are interested in using. A call to the library's reference desk can always help a student find the accompanying article.
WilsonWeb makes multiple databases for different subject areas. The WilsonWeb databases all share the same basic search interface. Most students become quite comfortable in a short amount of time with the WilsonWeb products. During library training for FGSE students, the WilsonWeb Education Full-Text database is covered in detail. Citations and/or full-text articles from all WilsonWeb databases can be emailed, saved to 3.5 floppy disks, or printed with ease. View the opening screen of WilsonWeb Education Full-Text.
ProQuest is another provider of various databases to NSU students. ProQuest offers some extra "bells and whistles" for students. A popular choice for Education students is the ProQuest Research Library Complete database. ProQuest has many different databases that can be searched at one time. Again, this is another primarily full-text database. ProQuest allows students to search with great ease across their various databases or in a single database. As in WilsonWeb products, citations and/or articles can be emailed, saved, or printed.
View the opening screen of ProQuest.
Professor's Tip: ProQuest does have an additional feature that faculty should review. Within the ProQuest databases, students can use a tab at the top called “view marked records” to create a bibliography list in APA format. Although this feature is quite popular among students the feature is flawed and makes mistakes when generating a reference list. A student using this feature for class runs the risk of extra mistakes in a bibliography list.
To find full-text journal articles students will usually need to use two steps:
Step 1: Students must find or be given a citation. Citations can be found in many NSU databases. If the student chooses to use a database that contains full-text the article may be available with the citation. In this case the students research could end here.
Step 2: The second step applies if the database that the citation is from contains no full text. Not all citations will have the full text attached. If the database has no full text for the desired citation, then the student will need to use to the NSU Full-Text Journal Title Search feature. On-campus students may wish to also use NovaCat to see if the desired journal is available in print or electronically. Please be aware that, for local students, NovaCat provides a more detailed look at the NSU holdings than the NSU Full-Text Journal Title Search.
The NSU Full-Text Journal Title Search feature allows students to search a small piece of the NSU library catalog. To use this feature, students need to visit the Electronic Resources page, and click on NSU Full-Text Journal Title Search. While using this feature, students will only be able to find and view electronically available journals within NSU databases. This is an excellent resource for any student on or off campus. Be aware that the NSU Full-Text Journal Title Search will not tell a student if the particular journal is held in the NSU library in print. To see the print journal holdings of the NSU library, students must conduct a “title” search within the NSU online library catalog, NovaCat.
If distance students cannot find their article in the full-text electronic format they need to place an order with the NSU Document Delivery Department or do an Interlibrary Loan at a public library of their choice. The same would apply for local students who were unable to find their desired article electronically or in print. The local student has the third option of Interlibrary Loan from the Sherman Llibrary or another library.
When using any article found in the full-text online format, it is required that students follow the APA guidelines for electronic resources. All electronically obtained materials must be cited correctly and must include the electronic retrieval statement. Occasionally, students will ask questions such as “What qualifies as an electronic document?” or “How do I know if I need the electronic retrieval statement?” A short answer is this: if the student has printed the document from their computer or used an article from the screen on their computer, they will need to attach the electronic retrieval statement. Also, the student should pay careful attention to the exact database they use. Simply citing WilsonWeb or ProQuest gives no indication of which database the student was using from either of the companies. It is very important to cite the database company name as well as the particular database from the designated company, if applicable.
Here are three examples of how to cite full text articles from a database with the correct citation format, according to APA style.
Bettinger, J. S. (2000, August 01). A New Age David vs. Goliath. Florida Trend. St. Petersburg,
43(4), 38. Retrieved March 9, 2004, from ProQuest Research Library Complete database.
Cookson, C., Hargreaves, D., & Parker, G. (1999, March 21). Mad
cow disease linked
to humans. Financial Times, 1. Retrieved April 17, 2002, from Health Reference
Center Academic database.
"We were just happy freaks, man:" Garcia in his own words.
(2000). Rolling Stone, 16,
52-57. Retrieved May 16, 2001, from Expanded Academic ASAP database.
Find one full-text article in the WilsonWeb Education Full Text database and one from any ProQuest database. Write out the citations in the APA Style Guide format and place your submissions in the assignment dropbox.