Electronic journals – Frequently Asked Questions
What is an e-journal?
Any journal that is available over the Internet can be called an 'electronic journal' or "e-journal". In some cases, print equivalents exist; in some cases, not. Some e-journals are freely available; others have charging mechanisms of different types.
What relationship is there with print journals?
An e-journal may:
- be an exact copy of a print version,
- include only some of the print articles,
- include all the print material plus extra information
- be only available in the electronic format,
All e-journals accessed from the A to Z list on the LRC web site contain full text articles.
How can I access e-journals?
All the e-journals available to you as a QMU student or member of staff can be accessed via the A to Z listing on the LRC web pages.
How can I find the full text of articles online?
To find the full-text of articles online, you must first undertake a literature search using one of the LRC’s online databases e.g. ASSIA, Business Source Premier, Emerald, etc. and identify relevant articles that you would like to view. Some databases allow you to link directly to the full text, e.g. Business Source Premier; others only include abstracts of articles, e.g. ASSIA. It is possible to link from the article titles in a search result to the full text by clicking on the Link Source icon.
The LRC’s online databases are listed on the LRC web pages at the Databases by name page.
Do I need a username and password to access e-journals?
Most of our electronic journals can be accessed on campus without the need for a username and password, although a few require a resource-specific username and password.
Can I access e-journals from home?
E-journals are available off campus using the Remote Desktop or logging in to the journal using the Shibboleth, Institutuional, or Federation login link and your Instotutional login details.
Do I have to pay to access the full text of articles?
All of the journals listed on the LRC A to Z list of e-journals should provide access to QMU students and staff free of charge. If you are prompted for your credit card details, or receive a message that a subscription is required to view the full text, it is likely that the LRC does not have a subscription to the title and so free access is denied. Some journals are available on an Open Access basis making them free to all.
Do I need special software to access articles?
Most full text journal articles are available in pdf format. As a result you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on all University thin client terminals and is available to download for your home PC free of charge at Adobe Acrobat.
Can I print articles?
You can print articles from full text journals but please remember that copyright legislation applies. The "fair dealing" provision in copyright law permits individuals engaged in research or private study to print only limited contents of a journal issue. Please see Copyright - Electronic copying, storage and scanning for more details.
If you have problems printing an article or only blank pages appear, it is likely that you have used the Print function in your browser rather than in the pdf document.
Can I download articles?
The Save function within the pdf document will save the article to a file, but please remember that copyright legislation applies. The "fair dealing" provision in copyright law permits individuals engaged in research or private study to download only limited contents of a journal issue., see above
The e-journals subscribed to by the Library are also subject to licence agreements with the publishers who produce them. The conditions of licences with individual publishers and information providers vary, but they always prohibit downloading a substantial part of a database or the entire contents of a publication (e.g. an entire issue of an e-journal).
Who can I contact if I'm still having problems?
If you require any further assistance with E-Journals, ask at the LRC Enquiry Desk, or contact the Library Enquiry Service.
Telephone: 0131 474 0000
Email: lrchelp@qmu.ac.uk
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