Northern Kentucky University

Working with Results Lists and Records in MLA

Locating Full-Text Articles

Now that we have covered some search techniques, we will look at how to access an article. In this database, you will find that there are some articles that you can access right on your computer.

---

After entering your search terms and clicking on Search, you will retrieve a results list that will look similar to the one to the left, if results are available for your search terms.

Some results for articles may have the full-text available within the database (as in #2) to the left. Simply click on the HTML or PDF link to view the article.

---

What to do when full-text is not available

Others will not be available in full-text. This doesn't mean that you can't get them. . .it just means that you may have to work a little harder. For in depth research on a topic, or a literature review you will likely want to take these extra steps. For more information on how to do this, read steps two through four in the tutorial linked below.

• http://library.nku.edu/research_help/tutorials/finding_information/find_articles_in_databases.php

If you are doing a search where you do prefer only articles that you can retrieve on your computer, check the Linked Full Text option (see below).

---

Note: You can check the Linked Full Text box to access full-text articles only. In some instances, you will not want to do this, because you might miss out on some valuable resources.

---

Locating Books

Step One

---

There is currently no direct linking feature to determine if a book found in MLA is available in Steely Library. To determine if a book is available, you will want to first note the title. In this example, the arrow is pointing to the title: Becoming Faulkner: The Art and Life of William Faulkner. You can highlight the title and do a right click to copy it.

---

Step Two

After locating the title of the book(s) you want, you need to return to the Library Home Page (http://library.nku.edu/) and choose Library Catalog-NKUIRE from the Library Quick Links dropdown at the top of the page. It is recommended you do not close MLA, but open another window to access the Library Home Page.

---

---

Step Three

Here, you will view a page with different options. Be sure to click on the first link Search the Library Catalog.

---

---

Step Four

Once you've opened the catalog, paste your title in the search box.

Note: You must remove any punctuation in the title you've copied, because these do not work in an NKUIRE search, and choose Title (exact) from the dropdown menu on the right.

---

---

Step Five

Unfortunately, the book that we searched is not available at Steely Library, as evidenced by the Your Search Resulted in No Hits message.

---

---

Fortunately, you still can access this via Sourcefinder. (Note: This process can take up to 12 business days.) To read more about how to access books through SourceFinder, view this tutorial:

• http://library.nku.edu/students/distance_and_online/sourcefinder.php

If this book had been available, we would have seen a record that indicates what floor the item is on, a call number, and whether or not the book is currently available. (See sample record below.)

---

---

Detail of a Record in MLA

Each citation on an MLA results list will have a hyperlinked title. Clicking on the title will open a detailed record of the citation, as below.

---

The detailed record of a citation provides a wealth of information.

In addition to the standard parts of a citation (title, author, source, etc.), the record provides a list of subject terms being discussed in the article (see arrow). Note that the subject terms are hyperlinked. Clicking on any of the subject terms will provide a list of citations about the subject.

Above are options to print, email, and save and export the article.