LibGuides: Sports Science: Finding full text articles: Finding full text articles in databases

Research databases contain detailed records of thousands of journal articles, book references and conference proceedings. These records usually include the article title, authors, abstract (a brief summary), keywords (to enable your search to find it) and more.

However, it is important to note there are different types of databases:

Some databases provide full text access to the articles themselves. In these databases you will see a link or PDF option available for each article (usually located at the bottom of the record). ScienceDirect and APA PsycArticles are examples of these type of databases you may use.
Some databases are primarily indexes or bibliographic databases, and although they provide information about the content of a journal article, they may not provide full text access to the actual article itself. SportDiscus and Web of Science are examples of this. In these databases you will need to use the "check for this at Exeter option" to find out if the Library provides access to the full text.
Some databases are a mixture of full text and indexed/bibliographic access. Here you will see both links or PDFs and the "check for this at Exeter option" depending on the access available.

Accessing full text articles in SportDiscus

1. Login to SportDiscus via the Database A-Z listing. Enter your keywords and click search.

2. Limit your search results to Academic Journals in the source types limiter.

You can also apply a publication date range if you need to limit your search to recent articles.

3. Each reference will have a check for this at Exeter button, click on the link to see if the full text is available.

A new window will open to check if full text is available. Sometimes you will be taken directly to the article, other times you may need to navigate the journal volumes / issues to locate the article you need.

Accessing full text articles in APA PsycArticles

1. Login to APA PsycArticles via the Database A-Z listing. The Ovid platform provides a number of database, therefore, you will need to reselect PsycArticles from the list. You should only search one database at a time.

2. The default search option is Multi-Field search, enter your keywords here and click search. You can also apply publication years if you need to limit your search to recent articles.

3. Each reference will have an article as PDF link at the bottom, click to open and view or save the full text.