Finding Articles with
Research Library Complete

Why would I use Research Library Complete?

I would use Research Library Complete if I needed to find actual articles (we call that full text) from either scholarly (peer-reviewed or refereed journals) or non-scholarly (newspapers, magazines) sources. Articles in Research Library Complete were published from 1986 to the present and cover a wide range of subjects, from art to mathematics to zoology. Some of the articles in Research Library Complete are not full text. The articles that are not available full text only have information such as article title and author (e.g., John Doe), source name (e.g., Time Magazine), volume, issue, date, and abstract (i.e., a summary of the article).

You (click here for a definition of "you") can access Research Library Complete anywhere you have a computer and an Internet connection. For more information about finding articles, please visit http://www.lib.ua.edu/findarticles.htm.

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How do I start?

1. Go to the Libraries' web site at http://www.lib.ua.edu and click on "Databases" under the "Search Menu." The Libraries' web site is your starting place for research. On the Databases page, you can find databases by subject or through an alphabetical list. If you know the database you want, like we know we want Research Library Complete, we can go to the 'R' section of the alphabetical list and then scroll through the 'R' section until we get to Research Library Complete.

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How do I search?

Once you click on Research Library Complete, you'll see a screen and a search box:

To search effectively:

• Connect keywords with AND, OR, NOT. For more information about AND, OR, NOT, see our short tutorial on Boolean Operators (You will need the Macromedia Flash Player to see this tutorial.)
• Children AND music finds articles that contain both the words children and music.
• Automobile OR car finds articles that contain either of the words automobile or car.
• Sports NOT football finds articles that contain the word sports but not the word football
• Put phrases in quotation marks to force the database to find words in an exact order.
  • "Baseball Hall of Fame" finds articles that contain this exact phrase.
• Use truncation to find many forms of a word with one root. For more information about truncation, see our short tutorial on Truncation (You will need the Macromedia Flash Player to see this tutorial.)The truncation symbol in Research Library Complete and other Proquest databases is an asterisk.
  • swim* will find swim, swimmer, swimmers, swimming.
• Limit your search based on specific criteria, such as scholarly or peer reviewed journals.
  • Underneath the search box, you can set a variety of limits. By clicking on "More Search Options" (see red arrow in image below), you can set even more limits.

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How can I get the actual article?

If your article is available full text from Research Library Complete, you will have one of three possible buttons: Full Text, Text + Graphics, or Page Image - PDF.

Full Text Options: One-stop shopping
Full text: HTML version of the full text that contains no images; click on "Full text" link in the citation to the right to see example
Text + Graphics: HTML version of the full text that contains images; click "Text + Graphics" link to see example
Page Image - PDF: an electronic duplication of the print, contains images; click "Page Image - PDF" link to see example

If you do not see a full text button (Text, Text with graphics or PDF), then you will see a link for either citation or abstract. See the diagrams in Steps One and Two below for an explanation.

Citation or Abstract Only: Two-stop shopping STEP ONE

The database will give you the necessary information to determine if you want to find the article in the University of Alabama Libraries' Catalog: Journal or Magazine Title, Volume, Number, Date, and Pages.

 

Citation or Abstract Only: Two-stop shopping STEP TWO

You can take the Journal or Magazine Title, Volume, Number, Date, and Pages to the University of Alabama Libraries' Catalog to determine if the Libraries have a print or electronic subscription to the journal or magazine. If not, you can order the item via InterLibrary Loan.

See our short tutorial on how to check the UA Libraries' Catalog.

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How do I print or email the article?

You can print or email an article and/or an abstract or citation. Here are a couple of useful tips.

General Tips

Always to use the internal print, email and save buttons; do not use your brower's print function (i.e., do not go to file > print at the top of your screen.). In Research Library Complete, the print and email functions are usually at the top and bottom of each document.

Use the "mark" function to print, email and save all articles and citations all at once.

 

Printing with PDFs

When printing PDFs, make sure to use the Adobe Acrobat "save" and "print" functions, but use the Proquest "email" button. See diagram above for example. Remember: Always to use the internal print and save buttons; do not use your brower's print function (i.e., do not go to file > print at the top of your screen.).

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