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We run workshops throughout the year on many of the topics covered in this guide and more. Take a look at what we have coming up and book your place to learn more about improving your search skills.
The full text is the entire text of a resource.
Sometimes you will only be able to find the citation information or abstract, but not immediately access the full text. This can happen if you are searching within a database or online, such as on Google Scholar.
Finding the full text from the Library
You may be given a reference, for example for a journal article, that you will want to find.
A journal article reference should include the following details:
author name(s)
date
title of article
title of journal
volume and issue
page numbers
To find an article through the Library:
Search for the journal name using Library search. Don't include any of the other information, such as date or author.
The results page will show you whether the Library subscribes to that journal.
Check the available dates.
If you have found the journal, including the date of your article, you can log in to view it. Use your University of Essex email and password to log in.
Once you're logged in to the journal, you can either search for the article by title or browse through to the relevant volume and issue to find it.
You can then view or download your article.
The video below shows you how to access an article through the Library:
Can't find the full text?
If you can't access the full text from the source you are using, there are a few different options you could try.
If you're using a database, for example JSTOR, and the full text is not available, we may have access to the full text in another database or resource. Search for the journal title first in Library Search to see if we have it.
Some articles are available in Google Scholar. Remember, you may see something in your results but when you try and access it be asked to pay.
Can’t find an article online? We’ll do our best to get it for you! The interlibrary loans page will give you all the details.
