Finding E-journals
Step 1: Identify specific articles of interest using the article database directions above.
Step 2:
- Click on the E-Journals list to see if the journal you need is available online (use the link above or go to e-journals in the center of the library's homepage under "quicklinks."
- Enter the journal title (not the article title) in the search box at the top of the page.
- If you get multiple results, choose the journal listing that has the date range that includes the time frame when your article was published.
- Click on the blue publisher's link to get to the e-journal.
- Navigate to the correct volume, issue and page number for your article by using either the date links, the previous issues link, or the volume links (each e-journal interface looks a little different).
Step 3: If the journal is not online, find the call number for the journal(s) in which the article is found. (Use the OSU Libraries Catalog for this step.) Find the article in the library and make a photocopy.
Searching for Journal Articles on a Topic
To search for a topic you will need to use an article database (not the e-journals list - more about using e-journals below).
Find a good database. Each database focuses on a particular subject.
- If you know the name of a good database for your project already, use the alphabet key on the databases page to navigate to your database.
- If you don't know the database name, use the subject pull down menu at the top of the databases page to choose your subject area. Click on the red "I" to get more information about each database.
Break your topic down. Article databases often work best when you put a single idea in each search box. For example, the research topic "what is the best plant spacing for soybeans in Oregon" could be broken down into three main ideas - Soybean, plant density, and Oregon. Each of these ideas would go in their own search box or be separated by "and."
Use Synonyms. Scientists often refer to words in a variety of different terms than you may be used to. Try different search words to come up with the best results. For example, plant spacing could also be called plant density, crop density, or intraplant competition.
Find the article. Not all databases have full-text articles, and sometimes we have the article available electronically, but it is not immediately available from the database with one click. If you do not see a PDF icon for the article within the database, you have 3 options -
- you can click on the "360 Link to Full Text" button which will help you discover whether or not our library has the article,
- copy the name of the journal title, open another tab or window to the library's homepage, click on the e-journals link and paste the name of the journal in the search box, once you have opened the journal, find the right volume, issue and page number for your article,
- if the journal title is not in the ejournals list, paste the title into the OSU Libraries Catalog (use the title search) to see if we have it (either electronically or in print).
