Why am I finding abstracts instead of full-text articles when searching in the University Library?
If you are researching a topic and not finding full-text articles, the most likely explanation is that you are using a journal index instead of a full-text database. Current journal indexes in the University Library include:
- CINAHL Complete
- Cochrane Collection
- Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text
- ERIC
- Google Scholar
- Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA)
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service
- PsyEXTRA/PsycINFO
- ScienceDirect
- SocINDEX
Journal indexes are comprehensive research databases. They offer exhaustive listings of all literature in their fields but do not necessarily provide the complete document online. You may find some cases where a link is provided to a full-text article in another database, but some documents identified are obtainable only in hard copy. As a result, the University of Phoenix does not recommend the use of journal indexes for routine research in association with short papers. Instead, these databases should be reserved for major projects that require you to have a comprehensive view of all published literature regardless of its online availability. For routine research, you should use the following full-text article databases in the University Library:
If you are already searching in these databases and not finding full-text articles, you may have removed the check from the box labeled
limit to full-text (or similar wording). This action is not recommended because it has the effect of causing these databases to display not only articles for which full-text distribution rights have been obtained, but also listings of articles not licensed for online distribution. For best results when using the article databases, it is recommended to leave all settings in their default positions unless there is a specific reason to change a setting. If you have any additional questions, please use the
Ask A Librarian Service for additional assistance.
