Finding a Known Item

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UC MERCED LIBRARY TUTORIALS

Finding a Known Item

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Introduction

This tutorial will show you how to find the full-text of an article using the citation (author, article title, journal title, etc.) in Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, Melvyl, and the e-Journal finder.

Use the active webpage on your right to complete the tutorial.

Why Learn to Find Known Items?

Knowing how to find known items is a handy skill to have if your instructor asks you to find a specific article to read for class. You may also want to locate articles listed in the bibliographies of textbooks or class readings. 

As long as you have the citations, you can nearly always find known items using search tools available on the library home page.

Citation Example

This is an example of an article citation.

NOTE: Citations are sometimes called references.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

How do I read a citation?

The format of citations may vary, but they will always include an article title and a journal title.

Using Article Titles to Find Known Items

The search box on the library home page has three search tools to help you find known items using the  article title: Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, and Melvyl.

screenshot search box

  • Click on the Articles tab in the search box on the library home page.
  • Academic Search Complete is located in the drop-down menu.
  • You will also see Google Scholar and UC Libraries catalog (Melvyl) in the drop-down menu.

We’ll use the previous citation example to search using the article title. See the title below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

Using Academic Search Complete to Find Known Items

Academic Search Complete is a popular library database.Academic Search Complete image

To search for the article in Academic Search Complete:

  • Cut and paste the article title in the search box on the library home page. See the title below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

NOTE: When you click Go, a new tab or window will open for Academic Search Complete, and you won't see the tutorial in the left sidebar. Clicking the tutorial tab will bring you back to the tutorial.

  • Click Go
  • The article record that comes up will display a UC-eLinks icon.

UC-elinks

What is UC-eLinks?

  • Click on UC-eLinks to get the full-text of the article.
  • For some articles, clicking on UC-eLinks will take you to a page where you can request the article through Interlibrary Loan.

What is Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?

Using Google Scholar to Find Known Items

Google Scholar is a web search engine that helps you find scholarly publications including books, articles, theses, court opinions, etc.

Google Scholar logo

To search for the article in Google Scholar:

  • Select Google Scholar from the drop-down menu in the Articles tab.
  • Cut and paste the article title in the search box. See article title below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

NOTE: When you click go, a new tab or window will open for Google Scholar, and you won't see the tutorial in the left sidebar. Clicking the tutorial tab will bring you back to the tutorial.

  • Click Go.
  • The article will appear at the top of the results list.
  • Click on the article title to get to the full-text PDF.

NOTE: You may need to click More > UC-eLinks for some articles to access the full-text or to request the article through interlibrary loan.

Using Melvyl (UC Libraries Catalog) to Find Known Items

Melvyl is the catalog for all 10 University of California campus libraries.

Melvyl logo

To search for the article in UC Libraries Catalog (Melvyl):

  • Select UC Libraries Catalog (Melvyl) from the drop-down menu in the Articles tab.
  • Cut and paste the article title in the search box. See the title below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

NOTE: When you click Go, a new tab or window will open for Melvyl, and you won't see the tutorial in the left sidebar. Clicking the tutorial tab will bring you back to the tutorial.

  • Click Go.
  • Scroll down, and click on the article title in the results list.
  • Click on the UC-eLinks icon to access the full-text. It may direct you to the journal itself or provide several database links.

Note: You may need to note the year, volume, and issue in the article record in case you need to navigate to the article by selecting the appropriate year > volume > issue > article title/page number. You may also paste in the article title in the search box at the top of the page next to "In This Title".

Using Journal Titles to Find Known Items

Journal titles can also be used to locate known items. When you use this method you may also need to know the year of publication, volume, issue, and page number. See the information below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

Using the e-Journal Finder to Search for Journals

QuicSeach box

  • Click on the Journals tab in the search box on the library home page.
  • Cut and paste the journal title in the search box. See the journal title below in bold.

Rebhun, L. A. (1994). A heart too full: The weight of love in Northeast Brazil. Journal of American Folklore, 107(423), 167.

NOTE: When you click Go, a new tab or window will open for the e-Journal finder, and you won't see the tutorial in the left sidebar. Clicking the tutorial tab will bring you back to the tutorial.

  • Click Go.
  • Click on the journal title.
  • Click on one of the database links. (Check to make sure the date range covers your article publication date. For this article, use JSTOR Arts and Sciences).
  • Navigate to the article by selecting the appropriate year > volume > issue > article title/page number. You also may paste in the article title in the search box at the top of the page next to "In This Title".

NOTE: Some articles are more difficult to find than others. If you need help finding a known item, please contact the library at library@ucmerced.edu or call 209-228-4444.

VPN Reminder

REMINDER: You must be on the UC Merced campus or connected to the campus network with the VPN to access the full-text of articles as demonstrated in this tutorial.

What is the VPN?

Conclusion

This concludes the Finding a Known Item tutorial. Now that you’ve finished:

  • Complete the short 2-question quiz on the next page.
  • Enter your email and your professor’s email when prompted.
  • Send the email.
  • Print your quiz results if desired.
  • Let us know what you think about the tutorial by clicking on the feedback link.

Thank you!

Questions? Contact the library library@ucmerced.edu or 209.228.4444.

 

 

 

Quiz

Which search tool would you use to search for a known item using the journal title?

What is the title of the article in this citation?

 

Pritchard, S. (2000). Essence, Identity, Signature: Tattoos and Cultural Property. Social Semiotics, 10(3), 331-346.

Certificate

Please enter your name and email address to retrieve a copy of your completed quiz.

You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas, with no spaces (for example, bobcat@email.com,bobcat2@email.com). If you are doing this for a class, you may need to enter your instructor's email address also.
 
Note: It could take up to 10 seconds to generate the certificate. Please do not click the Print/Send button more than once.