This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles from nursing and allied health journals covering nursing, biomedicine, health sciences, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and allied health disciplines.
This link opens in a new window"I saw the title of an article I want to use, but it isn't freely available on the web. How do I find it?" Read this text description or view our video tutorial on finding articles the library doesn't have.
The information you want may only be available behind a subscription or paywall. As a Butte College student, you have access to many of these materials without paying more for them. Here's how to track down an article:
First, find out all the information you can about the article. Look for:
A typical example of something you find on the web might look like this: Parker, M., Lamoureux, S., Challet, E., Deputte, B., Biourge, V., & Serra, J. (2019). Daily rhythms in food intake and locomotor activity in a colony of domestic cats. Animal Biotelemetry, 7(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-019-0188-0
Take this information to the next tab and do an e-journal search.
PS: Even after you finish school, you can still get many of these materials at your public library, so always check there before paying for an article.
Once you have your information, you'll want to find out if the Butte College Library has access to the article you're looking for. The easiest way to find it is often to do a search by e-journal title.
At the e-journal page, do a title search; enter the title of the journal or magazine you are looking for (not the title of the article). Using the example from the previous step, you would enter "Critical Reviews in Biotechnology:"
If the Butte College Library has access to the journal, the results will show one or more links to it:
You will be able to see what database the journal is collected in, as well as the coverage dates. Note that not all dates are necessarily covered; in this case, we have access to anything after 2013. Check the date of the article you want and make sure it's within the dates available.
Once you are sure of that, click on the journal title link. It will say "View Online" and "full text availability". You will find a description of the journal and links to each year available. Simply click on the year you want, find the right issue, and you'll see a list of each article in that issue, like a table of contents. The article you seek should be in that list.
What if Butte College does not have access to the journal or magazine you are looking for? Go to the next tab to find out how to do a worldwide search.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service in which you may request books or articles that your library does not own, but which another cooperating library may be able to provide. In this way, your library can get you almost anything you need, though it might take a little time. The library generally has a fast turn-around time for articles but please allow more time over holidays and weekends
To request an item from ILL use the online form and fill out all the required information. You should have this information from the original citation.
"Patron name" is the person making the request. You will receive a notification email when your item arrives. You can also email ILL directly with your request. Please provide full citation information. To contact ILL email: interlibraryloans@butte.edu.
In the below series of videos you will learn the process of searching for articles through the library. This process takes skill and practice but the more you learn about the process the more efficient you will be in the future.
Before you delve into research, learn a bit more about the elements of scholarly articles.
Now that you know more about scholarly articles, you will need to start your research. Often it is hard to determine just how broad or narrow your topic should be. If your focus is too broad you will find too many irrelevant results. If your focus is too specific you won't find enough information. Watch the following video to learn how to narrow down your research topic to find more relevant results.
Finding the best keywords to use in a database can make a big difference in your search results. The following video illustrates how to find and use the best keywords for your research.
You will need to collect citations for each piece of research you use. Watch this short video to learn how to get citations from library databases.
Once you know the basics of searching databases you can learn some more advanced skills. Watch this short video to learn advanced database searching.
Sometimes the library might not have access to every article you need. However, we can get most articles for you for free. Watch the following video to learn how to get an article the library doesn't have.
Need more help? The library has many other short video tutorials to help you with the research process. You can also contact the library or a librarian by finding the contact information on the "Get Started" page of this guide.
The library databases provide you with full text scholarly articles. Google Scholar is another option for finding full text articles. Watch the quick tutorial below to link your Google Scholar account to the Butte College Library in order to find more full text results.