What to do if we don't have the full-text?

Today I'll take you through the steps you shall take if we don't seem to have access to the full-text of a document.

When searching Discovery or a bibliographic database, if the full-text for a document is accessible you will see a specific icon in the results list.

Just click it to access the full-text.

 

What to do if we don’t have access to the full-text of a document?

First, check that we really don’t have it:

• If it’s an article, check the One-Stop-Shop for Journals for the journal’s title. We might have a print version of it!

• If it’s a book, check the catalogue for paper books and eBooks.

If we really don’t have access to it, then here are your options:

• Look for it on Google to check if the author hasn't put a pdf of it somewhere;

Tip: copy-paste the title in Google, put quotation marks around it and at the end add filetype:pdf

• Send an e-mail to the author to ask if s/he can provide you with a copy;

Tip: the emails of the main authors are almost always available on the record of the article in EBSCOhost databases; you are allowed to use them to contact - kindly, politely - the authors of a paper).

• Ask for an inter-library loan through the library's catalogue (cost: £6);

• Go to the British Library, you should be able to consult it there (photocopies: £0.25 per page).

Tip: you can register for a free reader pass online: http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/stp/register/stpregister.html