MSU - Sprague Library - E-Journal Tutorial

Electronic Journals Tutorial

Introduction

The purpose of this tutorial is to help you understand how to access and obtain articles from electronic journals.

What Are E-Journals?

Journals are publications that are issued at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly etc.)
Journals are also called serials and/or periodicals.
There are many types: refereed journals, review journals, newspapers, popular magazines, professional/trade journals and bulletins.
Since journals are issued regularly they are the most up to date resources available.

Types of Electronic Journals

Full Text - these are e-journals where complete articles are available rather than just abstracts. There are two types:

Electronic Version of Print are journals that are available in print and electronically.

Example: The Americas.

Electronic Only are journals that are available electronic only with no print version.

Example: Conservation Ecology.

Non-Full Text - these are e-journals where you will not be able to access the full text of the entire journal. There are two types:

Partial Text are e-journals where the publisher allows you to access the full text of certain articles or sections of the journal.

Example: Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

Electronic TOC/Abstracts allows you to access the table of contents and/or abstracts of articles even if there is no subscription to the journal.

Example: Family Practice

So Why Would You Use E-Journals?

Advantages

E-Journals are the most up-to-date sources of information.
E-Journals can be accessed from any computer connected to the University network and the internet.
Some e-journals are accessible from off-campus.
Viewing an article's abstracts from an e-journal allows you to judge whether the article is worth using for your paper.

Disadvantages

Not all journals owned by the Library are available electronically and therefore you will still need to visit the Library.
E-journals will not cover all the topics on your course, therefore, you will still need to use other sources of information.

Finding E-Journals

One way of checking what e-journals the Library subscribes to is to search the Sprague Library Catalog for the journal you are interested in accessing. Please note that not all e-journal titles can be found through the Catalog. For a more complete title list check the Full Text Electronic Journal Holdings list.

In the search box enter the name of the journal (e.g. American Speech); in the format box click on Periodicals/Serials; then hit the Title button.

Of the three choices below, click on the first title.

To view the electronic version of American Speech click on the Related URL hotlink.

For a more complete e-journal title list go to the Full Text Electronic Journals Holdings List (See Below)

Click on one of the above letters and then scroll down until you find the title you are looking for.

If you do not want to browse type the title in the Search Box and enter search (See Below). This is also a helpful way to locate titles recently added but cannot be found by browsing.

DO NOT USE THE E-JOURNAL LIST TO FIND ARTICLES ON A TOPIC Go to the “Find Articles & More” gateway to locate indexes (print and/or electronic) to search for a topic.

Some links go directly to the full text e-journal (See Below)

Other links take you to a search screen such as the one provided by LexisNexis (See Below)

If you need assistance on how to access Off-Campus go to the Instructions For Off-Campus Access To Journal Indexes.

Please note that print and or microform versions of journals can be located by going to the Periodicals Holdings List.