What If the Full-text is Not Online?

Education home > What If the Full-text is Not Online?

• Facts About Full-text
• Checking Other Passports Databases for Full-text
• Obtaining Articles from the Library's Print Periodicals
  • Patrons Within Greater St. Louis Area
  • U.S. Patrons Outside the St. Louis Area
  • International Campus Patrons
• Checking Local Academic Libraries for Print Publications

Let's say you've searched a database and you find the citation for an article which is perfect for your research project! Congratulations! The only problem is that the full-text of the article is not available in the database. Don't despair. You still have options:

• Re-evaluate the other articles you have found. Another may be as good or better. Beware, however, of selecting articles simply because the full-text is online; this is not good research practice.
• See if the full-text of your article is available in another Passports database
• See if it can be obtained from the Eden-Webster Library System (may take 2-10 days)
• See if a library in your local area subscribes to the print periodical

Checking Other Passports Databases for the Full-text

Webster/Eden students, faculty, and staff may check our comprehensive Journal/Magazine/Newspaper list to see the titles either available full-text in our online databases or in paper/microform at the library. If a periodical is available online, you will see a link directly to the database which has the full-text. Once you log in with your I.D. number, the database will take you either to a list of articles for that title or to the main search screen where you can often search by periodical title. Check the "Help" available within the database if you have questions about how to proceed.

Before you get too involved in this process, be aware that some publishers do not allow the full-text of articles from their periodicals to be carried online. Also, the older the publication date, the less likely it will be available online. As a general rule, most databases do not carry full-text prior to the mid-1980's and many databases only carry full-text beginning in the 1990's. If the article you're trying to find is not available online, you should obtain the article from the Eden-Webster Library System or from a local library.

Obtaining Articles from the Library's Print Periodicals

If the full-text is not online, you may check to see if the Eden Webster Library System subscribes to the periodical. The Eden-Webster Library System includes the Emerson Library at Webster University and the Luhr Library at Eden Theological Seminary. If either library has the journal, St. Louis area students, faculty and staff may visit that library and copy the article for themselves. Extended campus students may request a copy from the library (see below).

Does Eden-Webster Library Own the Periodical? Connect to the library catalog. Do a title search for the title of the periodical. For example, Educational Administration Quarterly. If your journal title appears, check to see if the Webster or Eden library has the volume and issue you need.

Patrons Within Greater St. Louis Area

Students, faculty and staff in the greater St. Louis area are encouraged to use the Emerson Library of Webster University or the Luhr Library of Eden Theological Seminary, where you may photocopy articles from the print periodicals to which the library subscribes. You may request articles not owned by either library through Interlibrary Loan.

U.S. Patrons Outside the St. Louis Area

Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff of Eden and Webster who are outside the greater St. Louis area may order articles through the St. Louis Document Delivery Office. Check the library catalog (see above) first. Articles owned by the Eden Webster Library System will be e-mailed within 48 hours. Articles which need to be obtained from another library may take 7 to 10 days. Use the Document Delivery form for all your requests.

International Campus Patrons

Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff of Webster University at the international campuses may request articles from the Webster and Eden libraries. Check the library catalog (see above) first. Articles owned by either library will be e-mailed within 48 hours. Articles that need to be obtained from another library may take 7 to 10 days. Use the Document Delivery request form for all of these requests. (Books and videos are not sent overseas due to shipping and time constraints.)

Checking Local Academic Libraries for Print Publications

When time is a factor, check with an academic library in your area to see if they carry a print copy of a periodical. You may be able to visit that library and make a copy. Extended campus students may wish to check our Local Library Information pages to learn about libraries in your area. Most libraries have a web-based catalog which will allow you to search by periodical title to see if the library subscribes to it and which issues they have available.