Find it @ PS  

What are e-Journals?
The majority of electronic journals (also known as e-journals) are electronic versions of print journals (e.g. BMJ, Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, etc) that you can access via the Internet. Some journals are not published in print and are only available in an electronic format. Electronic journals normally contain all of the material that appears in the printed version of the journal, and may also include additional features such as video clips and links to related web sites that can't be included in a paper journal. E-journals also tend to be more up-to-date than print journals as articles can be made available as soon as they are ready.

What is Find it @ PS

Find it @ PS is a new service that provides access to online journals and improves linking between the e-journal collection and databases subscribed to by the library. This button appears when browsing the list of electronic journals as well as search results databases such as Medline. If you click on the button, "Find it @ PS" will try to take you to the individual article or, if that's not possible, to the e-journal that you want to look at. If the article or journal that you want to look at is not held in the Library's collection then you will be offered alternative ways to find it, such as searching the Health Libraries or other library catalogues.

Which e-Journals do I have access to?
E-journals are available on the Internet but that does not mean that they are free! Journal publishers make their money by selling access to the contents of their journals whether it is in the print or electronic formats. The list of e-journals that you have full-text access to changes all the time as new titles are added and others are removed and so it's worth checking it regularly.

Do I need a username and password?
Users not at Graylands will need to logon with HE and Libray PIN.

Can I access e-journals if I am off-site or at home?
The majority of electronic journals and other online resources subscribed to by the Library can be accessed from off-site or from home using your HE number and password OR Library PIN. If you do not have an HE number and password you will need to contact the IT Support to request one.

The first time that you try to access an online resource you will be directed to the Library's proxy server login screen. If you login using your HE number and password you will then be re-directed to the online resource that you selected. You should only need to login to the proxy server once during a session.

Can I access e-Journals that are not in the Library's collection?
Journal content pages and article abstracts are usually freely available. The full-text content of older journal issues is also often freely available. Access to the full-text of most e-journals is only available to subscribers and if a title is not found in the Journal A-Z then it is unlikely that you will be able to access it. However you may request an article using the library's inter-library loan form provided you have registered with the Library and obtained a PIN (Personal Identification Number).

How do I view and print articles?
The full text of articles in electronic journals is usually available in two different formats:

PDF (Portable Document Format)
PDF provides a replica of the print version of an article and it is the best format to use if you want to print the article. If you want to look at PDF files from off-campus then you may need to install the Adobe Acrobat Reader software on your computer. You can download this for free from the Adobe web site.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
This format lets you look at the article as a web page. It allows you to link to different parts of the article and, sometimes to cited articles. Although this format is easier to read online it is not recommended for printing the article as it consumes many more pages.

How do I find articles on a particular subject?
It is not possible to search all of the e-journals for articles on a particular subject. The best place to start looking for articles on a particular subject is by selecting the most appropriate database from the list of available databases.

Current Awareness
You can sign up to receive a weekly email from the library alerting you to recent journal issues in your area of interest.

You can also sign up to receive emailed alerts from the British Medical Journal Publishing Group. BMJ Updates incorporates the McMaster PLUS email alerting system and searchable database of best evidence from the medical literature. BMJ Updates also include summaries for the most highly rated clinical literature that highlight key concepts presented in the research evidence.

Various publishers offer topic collections of their articles. These include the BMJ's topic collections, the MJA's topic collections, and the CMAJ's journal collections. Journal Watch from the University of Oxford Primary Health Care is written by Dr Richard Lehman and is a lighthearted review of the leading medical journals from a GP perspective. It is updated weekly. In addition, many publishers offer free alerting services that send you the contents pages of new journal issues by e-mail as soon as, or even before, they are published. You can usually register for an alert for an e-journal even if the Library does not subscribe to it.

How can I get more help with e-journals?
If you have any more questions about e-journals or if you have any problems accessing an e-journal please contact the Library.

Individual or small group training sessions are provided on request and may conducted either at your work place or in the library. To make a booking for any training please contact the library on 9347 6710.

Page updated / reviewed: 24 June 2008
Page Owner: Psychiatric Services Library