I found an article, where's the full text?
If an article has been published in a journal, we don't necessarily have the full text. Try these steps:
Tips and Tricks for Successful Research
- Document every step of the process:
- Note the keywords that were used and the databases that were searched
- Should you need to repeat you search, you will be able to do so quickly and easily
- Manage your search results
- When you find a document that interests you, save the PDF version or export the reference towards citation management software
- You can then read the document when you have the time to do so
- Plan to succeed
- You want to have most of your documents before beginning the writing process
- Start with a broad search:
- It's easy to narrow down your list of results once you have consulted the type of information you are retrieving
- Limits you can use to narrow your results include: date of publication, language, document type
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to: 
- Use various search platforms and databases, based on needs and type of inquiry
- Apply filters to refine and limit search results
- Employ subject specific research guides to find resources and tools in your discipline
1. Choosing Your Search Tool
There are multiple different search tools available to you for your research. Having so many options, it can be overwhelming and difficult to decide which one to use. Here are a couple of steps that you can go through to help you pick an appropriate search tool for your research needs.
- Determine which broad subject area your research topic falls within (e.g. biology, electrical engineering, health sciences, etc.).
- Identify your information needs and what type of sources you require.
Not all search tools cover all subject areas or contain all types of sources. Identifying these can help you to find the most appropriate search tool for your specific research context.
Below we have outlined the key search tools for undergraduate studies in the sciences, engineering, and heath sciences.
2. Omni: Research Simplified
Omni is the library discovery tool that allows you to search a large portion of the library's collections. Use Omni to find books, e-books, journal articles, and much more.
Finding Books in Omni:
- Start with a keyword search.
- On the results screen, refine by format Books
- Once you find a book of interest, you proceed by:
- E-books:
- Follow the link in the record to access the book.
- If you are located off-campus, you will be asked to identify yourself.
- For print books of interest:
- If you are interested in accessing the entire book
- Sign in to your uOttawa account
- Click Request and select contactless pickup
- The item will be retrieved for you and you will receive an email when it is ready for you to pick it up from our contactless pickup location
- If you are interested in a single book chapter
- Select Scan on Demand and specify the section needed
- A copy will be scanned and sent to you by email
- If you are interested in accessing the entire book
- E-books:
Finding Articles in Omni:
- Start with a keyword search.
- On the results screen, refine by format Articles.
- You can also limit your articles to "Peer-reviewed" only.
- Once you find an article of interest, you proceed by:
- Follow the link in the record to access the article.
- If you are located off-campus, you will be asked to identify yourself.
- Follow the link in the record to access the article.
Omni
3. Finding Sources Using Databases
Science & Engineering Databases:
There are many different databases you can use to locate journal articles and other documents. Some are subject-specific whereas others are multidisciplinary science and engineering databases.
Multidisciplinary databases:
Below, you will find two key databases for science and engineering that are great to use for writing your report or even getting started in your searching.
- Web of Science » Ce lien s'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre / This link opens in a new windowThis database includes conference papers and articles from key research journals in Science, Engineering, Medicine, Social Sciences, and Humanities. It also offers additional features that allow to discover the impact a paper or other published item has had on current research.
- SCOPUS » Ce lien s'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre / This link opens in a new windowScopus is a multidisciplinary database including scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. The research areas covered are science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts and humanities.
Additionally, if you are in the health sciences, PubMed is the key database that you will want to use for writing your report or getting started with your searching.
- PubMed (Medline) » Ce lien s'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre / This link opens in a new windowThe National Library of Medicine's search service providing access to MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE and other related databases, with links to participating online journals.
The library has created a series of short search tutorials taking you through:
- How to access the database
- How to run a search
- How to filter and sort your results
- How to read an article record
- How to obtain the full text version of an article
These tutorials demonstrate the processes listed above in Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed.
Specialized Databases by Discipline:
For your report, you may want to search some subject specific databases. Start by identifying the broad subject area of your topic and then consult the appropriate discipline specific research guide.