Many journals and research databases provide automated alert options that help you stay current on your topic of interest.
Subscribe to table of content alerts of journals to receive the table of contents of the latest issue. Visit the publisher's website to register.
Most research databases allow to subscribe to alerts based on saved search strategies. Alerts will notify you when new content matching your search strategy is added to the database.
Many of the articles you find in a research database will be available in full-text. Depending on the database, full-text content will be available directly in the database (follow links to PDF and/or HTML) or by choosing the OSU "Find it!" button which will lead you to the full-text article and/or a link to the publisher's website.
If you don’t see the OSU "Find it!" button, it is likely that you are not connected to OSU library resources (see Off-campus Access information for accessing licensed resources from off-campus).
The Online Journals List or the OSU Library Catalog are usually the best places to check that we have electronic access to the journal and article you need.
Use "Article Express" for obtaining copies of any article for which we don't have e-access.
Google Scholar note: To enable the OSU "Find It!" service in Google Scholar from off-campus, users must use Scholar Settings to ensure routing through the proxy: Go to Google Scholar > Click on the menu button (top left) > Click on Settings and then on Library Links > Search for Ohio State University > Check the box beside The Ohio State University Libraries-Find it at OSU > Click Save. In the Google Scholar results list, follow the Find It! link to determine if online access is provided by OSU Libraries or OhioLINK. This link may be under MORE for some results. A Find It! link may not be offered for every available link, as Google Scholar may offer several sources for the same citation.
The Web of Science platform connects the Web of Science Core Collection to regional citation indexes, patent data, specialized subject indexes, and an index of research data sets, all in all totaling over 33,000 journals.
Tutorials and training options are available from the Clarivate Analytics Training Portal.
Scopus is one of the largest bibliographic databases containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles. The database covers nearly 22,000 titles from over 5,000 publishers, of which 20,000 are peer-reviewed journals in the scientific, technical, medical, and social sciences. Scopus offers a variety of features and smart tools to help you stay current with research and authors, track citations, and manage your account or profile.
Watch this video to learn how to use Scopus. For more specific help, check out these tutorials.
Academic Search Complete is a multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc.
Watch this tutorial about the basics of the EBSCOhost interface.
CAB Abstracts is the most comprehensive source of international research information in agriculture, environment, and related applied life sciences. Produced by CABI Publishing, CAB Abstracts covers over 8,000 rigorously selected serials, books, and conference proceedings across the applied life sciences.
Tutorials and training options are available from the Clarivate Analytics Training Portal.
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine by Google that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. The Google Scholar index includes most peer-reviewed online academic journals and books, conference papers, theses and dissertations, preprints, abstracts, technical reports, and other scholarly literature, including court opinions and patents. Important note: Setting Ohio State University in Scholar Preferences will help you make direct connections to licensed online sources provided by the library. In your search results, you can connect to a full-text version if there is a linked option following the item’s title. If you’ve enabled Ohio State Library links (Settings > Library links > "The Ohio State University Libraries", a Find It @OSU link is shown to provide a link to full-text or to help you request the item if it’s not available online via interlibrary services.
Additional search tips:
Licensed online library resources are restricted to users on the campus network. There are several ways to access licensed resources from off-campus.
Off-Campus Sign-In via the Library Homepage
This is the most dependable method. Visit the library homepage and navigate to the resource you want to access. You’ll be prompted to enter your Ohio State credentials (name.# and password).
Access via Publisher/Vendor Websites Using Proxy Authentication
Some publishers allow direct access using your Ohio State login. To ensure proper authentication, prepend the following proxy string to the vendor’s URL: https://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?qurl=http://[vendor’s URL. Example: https://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?qurl=http://www.scopus.com/home.url. You’ll be prompted to enter your Ohio State credentials (name.# and password).
Request electronic delivery of journal articles and book chapters not already available online free of charge.
