Training Master Youth Studies: Step 4: Getting hold of the full text

Look for the full text of your selected sources. 

You can use the instructions in the adjacent boxes.

The moment you study or work at a university, you have access to all the material that the university pays for (for example via subscriptions and licenses). People who are not affiliated with a university or, for example, a university that does not have the means to purchase all these resources, often cannot access the content of the books or articles they need.

The Open Access (OA) movement strives to make scientific information publicly accessible, at no cost to the reader/user. An important aim of this is to ensure that publicly funded research benefits society as a whole.

Many publications of Utrecht University are now published in a form of open access. For example, as an article available for free in a 'normal' online journal, as an article in a fully open access journal or they are included in the Utrecht University Repository (searchable via Narcis).

Open access articles (and books, but there are far fewer) can be found in several databases, for example Scopus and Google Scholar. There are also databases that focus specifically on open access material. In addition, the Lean Library browser extension will alert you to open access versions of the resource you are looking for.

Most of the time you will be searching for articles by subject in scientific search engines, but sometimes you just want to know if Utrecht University Library offers access to a particular issue or article of a particular journal.

For that purpose you can check the list of Electronic Journals. There you will find the electronic journals available within Utrecht University in alphabetical order. You can browse the list or search by:

• title
• issn

You will find the volumes/years we have available, with links to the publishers' websites where you can find the full text.

You can also search for the journal or journal article in WorldCat at UU. Here you will also find additional information on availability at the Utrecht University Library and possible other Editions & Formats.

Many, but not all journals are online. If you want to know if a journal is available in the library in  a print version, you will have to consult WorldCat at UU.

1. Was the UBU link wrong? Search our catalogue (by title of the book or print journal) and/or the list of journals  (seach by journal title) to be really sure it is not available. 
2. Is a book maybe online available free of charge? Check Google Books. Is a journal article maybe online available free of charge? Check Google Scholar (the links in the right hand column).
3. Does any other Dutch library hold the publication? Material from other Dutch libraries can be requested through WorldCat by clicking on the title of the item. Under "Availability" then "Libraries Worldwide" you will find the "Interlibrary Request" button. By clicking that you will be directed to a form where you can make your request. More info:  Interlibrary Loan (ILL). This service is not free of charge. It is also possible to order photocopies or scans, but you will also have to pay for them. Borrowing books directly from other Dutch libraries is free for Dutch students: have a library card made, and pick up and return the books yourself. Or let somebody you know in that city make photocopies of your book or journal.
4. Should this publication be in the collection of Utrecht University Library? Submit a purchase suggestion, or contact the subject specialist.
5. Mail the author: ask the author to send you the article. On publishers' sites and in databases such as Scopus you will often find the email address of the author.
6. Twitter to the rescue! This may work for articles from journals to which the UU does not subscribe and that are not Open Acess. Send out a tweet with the URL and add the hashtag #icanhazpdf. Chances are good you will get into contact with someone able to legally send you a (PDF ot other) version of the text.
7. Does a foreign library hold the publication? Check WorldCat. Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request material from abroad.
8. Buy it yourself? Online access to an article can usually be bought via the publisher's site of the journal (use your creditcard); books can be bought in an (online) bookstore.

Do you want to read a digital article or an ebook, or do you want to search a specific database?

Utrecht University staff and students can access digital material, for which the library has a license, in different ways.

Read more about these different options on the website of the Utrecht University Library.

In your search for scholarly literature you may sometimes find the UBU-link. This link provides information about the availability of digital publications via the University Library.  Sometimes the UBU-link is in the form of a yellow button, but it can also be a text link.

Want to know more about all options to access digital publications? Visit our Online Access page.

It might be useful to have a spot where you can save all your literature references. There are several of these so-called reference management systems. Examples are Refworks, EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero. These systems also offer the useful option to (automatically) create in-text citations and reading lists.

Good reference management enables you to work more effectively and efficiently.

You will find more information on reference management systems in the LibGuide Reference Management.