We’ve all been there. You’re searching in a library database, you find what appears to be the PERFECT article for your research paper–but all you see is the citation and a short little abstract. Now what do you do?
Well, if there’s no full text, what you’ll usually see instead is a purple 
button. The next step is not a trick–you just have to click Find It. A menu of options appears for finding the full text of the article either online, or in hard copy (print or microform) in the Library.
If the top header in the Find It menu is “Is it available online?,”
you can click on the name of the alternate database given, and either your article will magically appear, or you will be taken into that database and can then search for the article.
If the top header is “Is it in our library?,”
click the link for the library catalog given. If a catalog record for the periodical appears, look at the bottom of that record for the holdings information. Look for the year your article was published, and then note where and in what format that year is in. If you don’t see the year needed, the Library does not have access.
If no catalog record appears, or we do not have access to the year you need, you can always request your article via ILLiad (interlibrary loan). Articles obtained via interlibrary loan only cost $1! BUT, they take 2-3 days on average to arrive, so start your research early!
Need assistance in finding the full text of your article? Ask a reference librarian!