How do I find full text articles?
Answer
You can find full text articles by using the Search Collections box on the library home page or our library databases.
Full text is typically available online either in PDF or web (HTML) format.
When you are looking for a known item
Let's say your professor has suggested you read a specific article for class or a project. You have the citation: basic info about the article like author, article title, journal title, and date. When you are looking for a known article, search for it in Catalog Plus.
First try searching for the article title. If that retrieves nothing or even too many results, try searching the article title and an author. When you find it, you will see an option to view full text ("PDF" or "HTML") or else the option to "check for full-text."
If you can’t find the article, try searching by journal title instead. If the catalog shows the journal as available online, you will be directed to a database; from there you will need to redo your article search within the database or navigate to your article (by browsing for the correct year, then volume/issue, then article).
When you are researching a topic
When you are browsing for articles but don't have a specific one in mind, you can search for your topic in the Search Collections box or in the library databases.
On our databases page, skim the database descriptions to see whether a database looks to be a good fit for what you need. Some databases are full text only, some have a mix of full text and citations, and some have citations only. When looking at articles in a database, you may see a link to the PDF or HTML full text, or you may need to click “Check for USD full text availability” (see screenshot below).
Also, Search Collections and many databases, including EBSCO databases like Academic Search Premier, give the option to limit your search to full text articles only. You will typically see this option on the left hand side of your search results page.
If we don't have an article you're looking for you can use our Interlibrary Loan Service to request a copy.