Q. How do I find the full-text article if a database provides only the citation and abstract (summary)?

Although you will often find full-text or pdf links for journal, magazine, or newspaper articles when searching in the library's databases, sometimes a database will only provide the citation (author, title of article, title of journal, volume, issue, date and pages) or abstract (summary of article content) for an article you might want to read. Follow the steps below to determine whether or not the article is available in full-text format through another database:

First, check to see if the article record includes a "Full Text Finder" button or a link labeled with words similar to "Click Here to Check for Full Text Access." If so, follow these steps:

• Click the "Full Text Finder" button or "Click Here to Check for Full Text Access" link to check the library's Periodicals List for availability of full text for the specific article in other Kean University Library databases.
• If you get a result that specifies databases that provide "Full Text Options," click a database name to access the full-text article.
• However, if you instead receive the message  "Sorry, no full text sources have been identified for this citation," this means that the library does not have the issue of the periodical you need online. 
• If you determine that the library does not subscribe to the periodical or does not have the date (issue) you need, you do not have to give up on the article! Instead, you might consider requesting a copy of the article through Interlibrary Loan. This is a free service!

If the article record does not include a "Full Text Finder" button or a link labeled with words similar to "Click Here to Check for Full Text Access," then follow these steps:

• Open another browser window on your computer, and go to the Kean University Nancy Thompson Learning Commons home page.
• Click Periodicals A-Z underneath the Search WorldCat Discovery box.
• Login using your Kean University Google username and password.
• Type the name of the journal, magazine, or newspaper in the Quick Search box, then click Search.
• Examine the results to determine your options. For instance, a checkmark under Full Text Access means you will be able to access issues from the date range specified through the database listed on the left. (Click a database name to access titles that are available electronically). 
• If you instead receive a Sorry, no records found for this search message, this means that the library does not subscribe to the journal, magazine, or newspaper. You might consider requesting a copy of the article through Interlibrary Loan.

You can use Interlibrary Loan to request articles from periodicals the library does not have. You can access the online Interlibrary Loan request form from the Nancy Thompson Learning Commons home page. Just click Library Services toward the top of the screen, then select Interlibrary Loan click on which form applies to you (Main Campus in Union or Kean Ocean, Ocean County College Library). Fill out the form with as much information as possible.

The library will try to obtain the article for you from another library (at no cost to you), and the article will be emailed to you.