We know from the Student Experience Survey that we need to do more to publicise the magic of MasseyLink and accessing full text (the full version of the article as published), so here goes …

If you can’t find the full text of an article in a database (usually accessible as a PDF) then click on the MasseyLink icon:

Behind the scenes the MasseyLink software will try to find if full text is available in another database. You will see the results of MasseyLink’s efforts in the MasseyLink panel that opens. Check out our short demonstration that shows you all about using MasseyLink and how to interpret the results.

Here are some important points to note:

1. Follow all the steps on the MasseyLink screen – for instance, you may need to click on the link which checks the Library catalogue to see if there is another online full-text option that MasseyLink didn’t pick up. In some cases, we may only have a print copy of the journal.

2. MasseyLink doesn’t guarantee you will get the full text of all the articles that you see in your search results. Unfortunately we can’t afford to subscribe to every journal available (no Library can!). In this case your best option is to use the Interlibrary loan service – use the Request the article link on the MasseyLink panel.

3. If you are using Google Scholar, make sure you access it via the Library’s article databases page. Google Scholar will then recognise you as a Massey student, and you can access what we subscribe to. If you are off campus you will need to set up Massey under Scholar preferences - check out our earlier post for information on this. Note that MasseyLink appears as a text link on Google Scholar and not an icon, so look out for this:

If you have any questions about MasseyLink or accessing full text please get in touch with us.

Google Scholar is one of the Library's most-used databases and interestingly, was the most-searched for phrase via our new Discover search box! Remember, if you search Google Scholar through the Article Databases page you will get access to Massey University Library's full-text content. If you need some help refining your search in Google Scholar and making use of some its features then take a look at our online tutorial How to Find Articles Using Google Scholar.

If you're after some good tips on using Google Scholar for literature searches, take a look at this new article we've come across:

Younger, P. (2010). Using Google Scholar to conduct a literature search. Nursing Standard, 24 (45), 40-46.

It's written for nurses, but is useful for all topics. The step-by-step approach is easy to follow, and there are relevant screenshots and references to PubMed, CINAHL and BNI.

The article is recommended by Heather Da Vanzo, Humanities & Social Sciences Librarian at Wellington Library.

You might also be interested in our tutorial How to Find Articles Using Google Scholar.

Google Scholar is getting even easier to use, with a demonstration on our website and new email alerts.

If you're new to Google Scholar, it works like Google but searches for scholarly literature rather than across the whole Web. You'll see it listed alongside many of our recommended Article Databases, as it complements them.

We've recently created an online tutorial to show you How to Find Articles Using Google Scholar. Sit back and see how it's done, then have a go with your own topic. This is just one of about 20 tutorials now scattered throughout the Library website, at the points where you’re most likely to need them. Most are only 3-5 minutes long, so it’s a really efficient investment of your precious study time.

And Google Scholar now offers email alerts to let you know when there are new search results available for your topic. This service is offered by many journals and databases. You can find out more on Keeping Your Research Current.

Update 26/03/10: This problem is now resolved.
23/03/10: Sorry, MasseyLink hasn't been working properly in Google Scholar for off campus users only in the last couple of days. We've identified and solved the problem, but our techies tell us that it will take a few days for Google to spider our correct details again. So in the meantime, if you're off campus you'll need to use the Library Catalogue to see if we have the item you need.