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How do I locate an article?

• I have a citation for an article, how do I find the full article?
• I only have some of the citation information, can I find an article with this?
• I just want to make sure the citation I have is accurate.  How do I do that?
• How do I verify a citation?
• What is a PubMed ID number, or a PMID or the Unique Identifier?  How does this help me find my article?
• How can I get a copy of an article if the library doesn't have the journal it came from?

Working with the article you found:

• ...when it came from Ovid
• ...when it came from PubMed
• ...when it came from MD Consult
• ...when it came from UpToDate
• What is the difference between an HTML copy and a PDF copy of an article?
• How do I print an article when it is a PDF?
• Can I save a copy of an electronic article?
• Is there someplace in the library where I can make a copy of a print article?
• Can I print a color copy of an electronic article?
• Can I email a copy of an article to someone else?
• Will the library staff make a copy of an article for me?

I have a citation for an article, how do I find the full article?       Return to top of page

• The most efficient way to get to an article from a citation would be to use the PMID (PubMed ID or Unique Identifier) if it is included in the citation as this will connect you straight to the article linker page for the article.

  Use the search box on the library's home page:
  
  

  Enter the PMID or Unique Identifier number associated with the article here.

  The resulting page will display a full citation for the article at the top and has links to the article and journal if it is available electronically, along with a note if it is also found in the library's journal collection are shown in the lower part of the display.

  This resulting page is from the article linking software in use by the library.

• Many citations will not include a PMID number.  To search for an article without a PMID, use the other selection from the Find Journals box and enter the title of the journal in the first search box and change the option to Journal Name Begins With as shown below:
  
  

I only have some of the citation information, can I find an article with this?       Return to top of page

• When you have an incomplete citation for an article, use the PubMed Single Citation Matcher to try and locate the article.  There is a link to Single Citation Matcher in the left frame of the PubMed interface.
• It is important to access PubMed from the Alumni Library's web page to be able to take advantage of the article linker software.  If you do not connect to PubMed from the library web page, you will see a different set of links in your search results and will most likely not be able to connect to a full text copy of the article.
• Enter as much information as you have in the appropriate locations on the Single Citation Matcher form and click on the Go button to search for the article.
• If the search doesn't find your article, try entering just the year in the date field, or removing initial(s) in the author's name.  Sometimes this will help locate your article.
• For additional assistance, contact the library by phone at 216-444-5697 or via email at library@ccf.org

I just want to make sure the citation I have is accurate.  How do I do that?       Return to top of page

• Go to the PubMed site
• Click on the Single Citation Matcher link in the left column
• Fill in the blanks with your information

What is a PubMed ID number, or a PMID or the Unique Identifier?  How does this help me find my article?       Return to top of page

• PMID is an acronym for PubMed Identifier, a unique number assigned to each PubMed citation of life sciences and biomedical scientific journal articles.
• The PMID is also called the Unique Identifier.
• Just as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifies a specific book, the PMID identifies a specific article.
• When it is available, the PMID results in the most efficient search for an article.
• As of 2005, there are roughly between 15-16 million numbers in use and about 1 million new numbers are added each year.

How can I get a copy of an article if the library doesn't have the journal it came from?       Return to top of page

• You can use your ILLiad account to request articles that are not available locally.
• If you do not currently have an ILLiad account, you will need to register for an account first.
• You must have a library account before you can establish an ILLiad account.
• We have cooperative agreements with local, state, regional, and national networks for borrowing books and obtaining photocopies of articles.  Photocopies are generally available within seven to ten days (often sooner).
• Follow this link to get information on using CCFlinks and Olinks to request articles.

Working with an article from Ovid:       Return to top of page

• If you wish to print, email, or save your literature search results from Ovid, you need to use the Results Manager found at the bottom of the page.
• First select your citations by checking the boxes of each citation you wish to keep.  When you are finished choosing the citations on a page, click next page and continue checking boxes until you have marked all the citations that you want to keep.
• Next, scroll to the bottom of the page to the Results Manager.  Click Selected Results, choose which fields you want included in your output, choose a format and then click the appropriate action from the right hand side of the Results Manager.
  
  
  

• Once you have found that the full text of a desired article is available in Ovid, click on the link that says Full Text.
• You will see the article displayed in HTML format.  Look at the blue box on the right hand side of the article.  It offers options to Print Preview, Email Article Text, and Save Article Text.
  • Some Ovid articles - but not all! - are available in PDF. Click on the PDF option to open the article in a PDF.
  • If there is no PDF option and you wish to print the HTML version, select Print Preview.   Ovid will then ask you if you want the graphics/images to be full size, after entering your selection, click Continue.
  • If you wish to email or save the article, please know that only the text will be retained; if there are any graphics or images associated with the article, these will not be emailed or saved.

Working with an article from PubMed       Return to top of page

• When performing literature searches in PubMed it is easiest to use the Clipboard feature in order to select articles you want to print, e-mail, or save.  The Clipboard is used to temporarily collect citations for later action.  You can print, email or save to a file as you are searching, but using the Clipboard ensures that all your results will be together rather than in multiple smaller groups.
• To place an item in the Clipboard, click on the check box to the left of the citation, select Clipboard from the Send To pull-down menu.  Once you have added a citation to the Clipboard, the Clipboard tab will display an asterisk (*).
• Once you have added items to the Clipboard, you can work with the items you have added to the Clipboard by selecting the tab.
• When you select Send To Text, the the fields you have chosen will display in a web page in a text format.
• When you select Send To Print, the fields you have chosen for your selected citations will display in a pop up window along with a button labeled Print this page.  This will send it to your default printer.  The printout will be just as it appears on your screen.  To avoid this, either send to text and print that page or save the file and print the resulting text file.
• When you select Send to E-mail, the fields you have chosen for your selected citations will be sent to the email address you enter.  The sender will be "Sent by NCBI" with a subject line of "pubmed Search Results".
• When you select Send to File, the fields you have chosen for your selected citations will be saved on the desktop as a textfile called pubmed-result.

• To retrieve an article from the list of citations you get when you search PubMed, click on the icon to the left of the citation.  ( )
• The first icon above indicates that there is not an abstract for the article.  The second and third icons both indicate articles with icons.
• You will always see a link for CCF Links whenever you open the link to an article.
• When you click on CCF Links, you will open a page that displays the full article citation at the top of the page and lists every way an article can be accessed if it is available through CCF or OhioLINK subscriptions.  You may also see a link to the Directory of Open Access Journals where many journals are available openly on the Internet.  If an article is in a journal we receive in print it will also be indicated here.
• A link to order the article using your ILLiad account can also be located on this page underneath the access information.  Following that link will take you to a request form for an article once you have entered your username and password.  The citation information will already be entered for you all all you would need to do to request the article is click on the Submit button at the end of the citation information if your account permits the request.

Working with an article from MD Consult       Return to top of page

• Once you have selected the article or book chapter you wish to print, click Print Preview. That will display a print friendly HTML version of the article.
• In order to save an article or book chapter from MD Consult, first click the Print Preview button.  Then, on your browser's tool bar, click on File and then Save As, in order to save the article or book chapter.  Please note that this will save the article only as a web page.
• NOTE: MD Consult articles and book chapters may not include all of the graphics and images associated with that article or chapter, because permission was not granted to MD Consult to reprint the graphic or image.

• Once you have displayed a topic you can click on the link that says, Printer Friendly Format at the top right hand corner of the web page.  Once UpToDate displays the topic in a printer friendly format and you can hit the print icon on your browser.
• In order to save a topic you must click on the link that says, Printer Friendly Format.  Then from your browser's tool bar,click File and then Save As, to save the topic.  Note: this will only save the selection as a web page.
• In order to email the topic, you must click the link Email this to a colleague. Your colleague also needs to have an UpToDate subscription in order to view your email.

What is the difference between an HTML copy and a PDF copy of an article?       Return to top of page

How do I print an article when it is a PDF?      Return to top of page

• If you are printing, emailing, or saving a PDF document from a journal you must click on the printer icon within the PDF to print it, or the save icon within the PDF to save the document (see image below).

Can I save a copy of an electronic article?       Return to top of page

• See the above section if the article is a PDF.
• In most cases you should be able to save a copy of an electronic article.  Some PDF articles are constructed in a manner that will not allow you to save a copy, just to print one.

Is there someplace in the library where I can make a copy of a print article?       Return to top of page

• Yes, there are copy machines on both floors of the library.
• No access codes are required to use the library's copy machines.
• Copiers are located in a room by the book stacks on the first floor of the library.
• There is also a copier located in a room at the back of the second floor of the library.

Can I print a color copy of an electronic copy of an article?       Return to top of page

Can I email a copy of an article to someone else?       Return to top of page

• If you mail a link to an article to an email address, the link may expire after a certain length or time, or the article may only be accessible if the email is opened on campus or if the person receiving the email has an account set up (for articles from MD Consult, for instance.)  Be aware of this when you email a link to an article.  The link will probably not contain enough information for you to locate the article again if you sent it to yourself, so sending a citation along with it is a good idea.
• If you are emailing a PDF document, refer to the section above regarding PDF documents.  You will need to save the article first and then email it as an attachment.
• Some journals and databases provide a link to email the article to someone.  This may be either in the form of a link to the article or an actual copy of the article.  This varies from one resource to another.

Will the library staff make a copy of an article for me?      Return to top of page

• Library Staff photocopies materials for Professional Staff and CCF employees at the Family Health Centers only. Please submit your requests via ILLiad.
• Residents, fellows, students and other employees at the main campus are welcome to use the library's self-service copiers and to download electronic journal articles themselves. Our workload does not allow us to provide an in-house copy service to all CCF employees.
• The general turnaround time to receive photocopies is one week, however, this varies with the Library's staffing levels and workload.
• Please be sure to inform us of any deadlines when you place your requests. "ASAP" or "rush" doesn't help us help you: we need a specific date.
• Professional staff and CCF employees at the Family Health Centers can request articles through ILLiad, the library's web-based Interlibrary Loan requesting service.

Cleveland Clinic Alumni Library | 9500 Euclid Ave, NA30 | Cleveland, OH 44195 Phone: (216) 444-5697 | Fax: (216) 444-0271 | Email: library@ccf.org

Last updated: May 19, 2009 | CCF library staff