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Journal articles, news and case studies: Find a specific journal article

How to find a specific journal article

This guide sets out how to find a journal article in full-text when you have the reference details e.g. article title, journal, etc.

The main exception is for articles published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR). For instructions on how to access HBR articles, click on the Harvard Business Review tab via the left-hand menu.

Search example

Locate a copy of the following article:

McGahan, A. M., Bogers, M. L., Chesbrough, H., & Holgersson, M. (2021). Tackling societal challenges with open innovation. California Management Review, 63(2), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125620973713

Option #1 - Search for the name of the article

1)  Enter the name/title of the article into the main search box e.g. "Tackling societal challenges with open innovation"

The title of the article appears in the search box on the Library homepage

2)  If the article is available via one of the Library's databases, it should appear close to the top of your results list.
The article record is shown from the Library Search results page

Option #2 - Search for the name of the journal

If option #1 didn't work, search for the name of the journal in which the article was published (e.g. California Management Review).

1)  Enter the name of the journal:

The Library's journal search box
 

2)  Your Library Search results will let you know if the journal is available online or can be accessed in hard-copy from the Library.
Finding a journal search results page

Click on the name of the journal to view a list of databases where the journal can be accessed. Once you've accessed the journal, search for the title of the relevant article or locate the issue in which the article was published.

Option #3 - Google Scholar

When you use Google Scholar off-campus, you’ll often find results that aren’t freely available in full-text.  

To access more of the articles you need, we recommend that you link Google Scholar to the Library's databases.

Once you've updated your Google Scholar settings, search for the name/title of the journal article.

If the article is available via one of the Library's databases, you should see an @ University of Sydney link to the right of the article.

Google Scholar search result. The @ University of Sydney link to the right of the article is highlighted.

Option #4 - Google

It can sometimes pay off to run a Google search on the title of the article.

Use quotation marks to search for the title as an exact phrase.

To limit your search to PDF files (more likely to be full-text articles), enter filetype:pdf at the end of your search terms.

Google search results

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