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4) Find Journal Articles: Finding a specific article

A University of Lethbridge Library guide to finding journal articles.

Finding articles when you have the citation

To find an article when you have the citation, look up the journal title in the library catalogue. Select Journal Title from the dropdown menu in the library catalogue, and enter the full title of the journal: 

Note: If the title is abbreviated, try searching for the abbreviation, or look up the abbreviation in the Web of Science Abbreviation Index. If that doesn't work, Ask Us for help.

A search for the journal Science retrieves the following records:

Click on University of Lethbridge Library Collections to see the complete catalogue record for that journal. The U of L Has field lists the library's holdings for that title. Check the U of L Has field to see which volumes the library has, and whether those volumes are available in print or online.

What do the various numbers and dates mean in the U of L Has field?

  • UofL Has PAPER: v. 1-23, 1883-1894 means that the library has paper copies of volumes 1-23, published between 1883 and 1894.
  • UofL Has PAPER (New SERIES): v. 112-247, 1950-1990; v. 248, no. 4951-4962, 1990; v. 249, 1990; v. 250, no. 4977-4984, 4986-4988, 1990; v. 251, 1991+ means that the library has volumes 112-247; has issues 4951-4262 from volume 248; has every issue of volume 249; has issues 4977-4984, is missing issue 4985, but has issues 4986-4988; and has all volumes from 251 on.
  • UofL Has MFILM (New SERIES): v. 1-111, 1895-1950 means that the library has volumes 1-111 on microfilm 
  • UofL Has INTERNET: v. 1-3, 1880-1882; v. 1-23, 1883-1894; new series, v. 1, 1895+ [most recent 5 years not available] means that the library has online access to volumes 1-3, published between 1880 and 1882; volumes 1-23, published between 1883 and 1894; and all volumes from 1895 on. The most recent 5 years are unavailable due to publisher restrictions. 

If the journal you need is available online, click Access the journal online (U of L users only) to view the journal. If you are accessing the journal from off-campus, you will be prompted to log in. Navigate through the journal archives to find the volume, issue, and article that you're looking for.

If the journal you need is not available online, but the library has a print copy, write down the its location code and call number. Current Serials are shelved on Level 10 south, near the Media Collection. Older journals are bound and shelved in the Main Collection on Levels 9 and 10.

If the journal you need is NOT available in the library, you can submit an Interlibrary Loan request. The library will attempt to borrow a copy of the article from another library. Select Interlibrary Loan from the navigation menu on the top of the Library's home page. Click on Journal Article, and log in to access the online Interlibrary Loan request form.

Finding articles when you don't have the citation

If you don't have a specific journal or article in mind when you begin your research, you can search for articles in an article database.

If you are having trouble choosing a database, connecting from off-campus, or finding the articles that you need, check the links below:

If you need more help, Ask Us! The staff at the Library Services Desk can help you with your research.

Finding full-text articles

If you're interested in a particular article, but the database you're using doesn't include a link to the full text, don't give up! There's still a good chance that the library has access to the article through a different database, or in print.

Look for the button in the database record.

The Find Full Text button will take you to a complete list of the library's holdings for that journal.

If the journal is available through another database, you will be able to access it through a link at the top of the page. In this case, the article is avilable through the ProQuest Education Journals database. In this case, the article is ALSO available in print (under 'Check our library catalogue', it lists the date range available in PAPER: here, it's basically 1975 to current (+), with a few exceptions). Click on the link to 'Check detailed holdings' and you will be taken to the library catalogue, where you can find the call number of the volume and issue you are looking for.

Occasionally, the library will not have a copy of the article you need. If there is no link to a full text article, and no link to the library catalogue to get the print version, you can request a copy using the Interlibrary Loan Request link:

The library will attempt to borrow the article from another library. In most cases, a copy will be emailed to within a few days.

Library Help

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