General Guide
THE LIBRARY
www.salford.ac.uk/library
Journal articles – how to find them
This guide explains how to locate a journal article when you already know its details, e.g.
citations on a reading list or in a bibliography. If you want to find articles on a topic, and you
don’t already have any details, you need to use a database – consult library Subject Guides
to find the best ones for your needs.
How do I recognise a journal article?
Smith, Felisa A. & Betancourt, Julio L. (1998) 'Response of bushy-tailed woodrats to
Late Quaternary climatic change in the Colorado Plateau', Quaternary Research,
v.50 no.1, pp.1-11
Grayson, D.K. (2006) 'The Late Quaternary biogeographic histories of some Great
Basin mammals', Quaternary Science Reviews, 25 (21-22), pp.2964-2991
These are typical ways that journal articles might be cited on a reading list. Note that:
•
there are volume and issue numbers – this tells us that it is a journal article, not a book.
•
there are two titles – the title of the article and the journal title. You must use the journal
title to search for it on SOLAR – it is the second title and often (but not always) it is in
italics or underlined.
How do I find the journal?
Most of our journals are in electronic format, so you need to start your search by checking
the SOLAR system.
Go to http://students.salford.ac.uk/
Click SOLAR Library Search.
If you are working off-campus
you should first click the Sign in
link, then log in with your
username & password.
Click e-Journals link.
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1. Type in the title of the journal
(not the title of the article).
2. Click the GO button.
A list of matching journals will be displayed.
3. Click the FIND IT button
next to the one you want.
The next screen shows you the databases on which the journal can be found. Note that the
black text under each tells you which volumes are available on each database.
4. Click the Get the full text from link
for the one you want to use.
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If the volume you want is not available electronically
You may find that we do not have the volume you need in electronic format, but it is possible
that we have a print copy in the Library.
You can check this from the results screen in SOLAR.
Click the Get print copy in link.
A brief catalogue record will open in a
separate screen.
Click the Show library holdings link.
This screen tells us which of our libraries hold the journal, and which issues we have (in this
example we have volumes published between 1970-1983).
A dash (-) after the date tells us that we have from that date onwards, e.g. 1993Incomplete means that some issues are missing.
How do I find the journal in the library?
Once you have checked the Library Catalogue and confirmed that we hold the journal you
want you need to find it on the shelves.
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•
•
•
Go to the Journals Collection in the correct library (for example, in Clifford Whitworth
journals are kept on the 2nd floor).
Journals are shelved by title in alphabetical order – so for the above example,
Quaternary Research, look for Q.
Once you have found the journal on the shelves find the volume and issue you need.
Older issues may be bound together, in which case you only need to look for the volume
or year.
Find the page numbers of your article.
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If the journal you want is not available electronically
If you fail to find the journal you want in the e-Journals collection it is still possble that we have a
paper copy of it in the Library. You will need to check the SOLAR Library Search.
2. Click to the
search button.
1. Type in the title of the journal
(not the title of the article).
3. At the results screen, click
the Journals link.
4. Click the Locations link to find out which
of our libraries the journal is held in.
Follow the instructions on page 3 to locate the journal in the Library.
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If the article is not available at the University of Salford
Using other libraries
If you have checked SOLAR and discovered we don’t have access to the volume you want
you can check the catalogues of other libraries. You can do this from the results screen
when you search e-Journals on SOLAR.
Select the university you want from the menu
then click the Check print holdings in local
link.
This will automatically search their catalogue
for the journal you are looking for.
To find the locations of other local universities, learn about their facilities,
and check their catalogues, please see the links on the NoWAL (North West
Academic Libraries) website at:
www.nowal.ac.uk/membership.php
Please note that licensing agreements mean that you will not be able to use the electronic
journals of another library. If you visit one of the other university libraries in the North West
remember to take your Salford ID card with you.
Document Delivery
If the article you want is not available at Salford, either in paper or electronic format, you may
be able to borrow it from other libraries or the British Library using our Document Delivery
service. Basic requests are charged at £2.50.
For more information see: www.salford.ac.uk/library/services/documentdelivery
Please note: Information contained in this General Guide was correct at the time of publication. A
more recent version may be available at www.salford.ac.uk/library/userguides/
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