Dalhousie University Libraries - Finding Electronic Journals FAQ
Libraries
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | CANADA B3H 4H8 | +1 (902) 494-3601
Libraries Quick Search Dalhousie

Electronic Journals FAQ's

  • What is an electronic journal?
    They are the same as print journals except that they are accessible via your computer. They publish articles on a variety of subjects. An article is a statement of the results of original research done by professional scholars and published in a scholarly publication such as an academic journal or periodical. Scholarly journals are refereed: ie. articles are evaluated by other researchers in the same field before they are published. Articles can also be found in magazines or newspapers. These tend to be written by journalists for general audiences.

  • How do I find an electronic journal in my subject area?
    You can browse a list of electronic journals categorized by subject. Or you can search a database to find journal articles.

  • How do I get the article when it is in an electronic journal?
    Some databases include the full-text of the article as part of the record. In other words, it provides direct access to the electronic journal. If the full-text is not provided via the database, then you search for the journal title (Shakespeare Quarterly) in the Novanet catalogue to see if the Libraries subscribe to the journal. When a journal is available electronically, Novanet includes the URL (Web address) where it can be accessed. 

    If the journal is held electronically at another Novanet library, you can visit that library to obtain the article or submit a Novanet Express request.

    You can also search for a specific electronic journal title.

  • How do I read an article in an electronic journal?
    Once you have linked to the journal, what you then see depends on how the journal is supplied to us. If it is part of a database, then it will probably be displayed as straight text. You can then usually print, save or email the article. Sometimes the articles are displayed as PDF files which are images of the articles as they appeared in the print version of the journal. Most PDF files can be viewed using a freeware program called Adobe Acrobat Reader.

  • How can I access or connect to the electronic journals?
    Any computer on campus can access the electronic journals through the Libraries web site. Dalhousie students, faculty and staff can also access them from home by following the remote .

  • Why are there restrictions on who can use the databases?
    Usually the licenses that we sign with the database vendor places restrictions on who can access the resource. More information.