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PennText FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is PennText?
- How do I access PennText services?
- Why is full text not always available?
- Why are there sometimes multiple options for full text?
- When I click on the full text link for a citation, why am I not always taken directly to the full text?
- I see a button or an icon that takes me to the Services Menu, but it doesn't read PennText.
- Why don't I see any PennText buttons in my search result?
- Why don't I see the PennText icon in the same place in each database?
- When I clicked on the Franklin link in the Services Menu why didn't I get any hits?
- How can I save an article link to use on a web page or in courseware?
- Which resources are PennText enabled?
- What is PennText?
PennText provides a direct link from a database citation to a variety of services related to the particular citation. These services include the full text of the article if available, an abstract, or table of contents for a particular journal issue, a direct link to the Franklin catalog record for the print version of the journal, and access to a dynamic Interlibrary Loan form.
- How do I access PennText services?
The PennText button will appear within a citation in a database that is PennText enabled. Clicking on the button will open a Services Menu that lists available options for full text access to an article and other related services.
- Why is full text not always available?
Not all journals that are indexed in databases exist in electronic form. If the Services Menu does not include a link to the full text of an article either that particular journal is not available electronically, or the library does not maintain a subscription. Be sure to click on the link to the Franklin Catalog within n the Services Menu to see if the library holds a print subscription to the journal.
- Why are there sometimes multiple options for full text?
There is some overlap in the contents of electronic services to which the library subscribes. If a journal article is available electronically from more than a single source, the Services Menu will list multiple options for full text access.
- When I click on the full text link for a citation, why am I not always taken directly to the full text?
Not all databases provide deep linking, that is, the ability to link directly to the full text of an article. For some databases, such as Factiva, PennText is able only to link to the database search page. In that case, the search will need to be rekeyed within Factiva in order to access the full text of the article. In other cases, such as in e-journals issued by the University of Chicago Press, PennText can link only to the table of contents for the journal. It will be necessary to scroll through the table of contents for the issue to locate a specifric article.
- I see a button or an icon that takes me to the Services Menu, but it doesn't read PennText.
Some providers of databases to which the library subscribes do not permit customization of the linking button. PennText is the Penn Library's customized name for the linking service and we have used this name whenever possible. You may, however, also see a button that reads SFX (the provider's name for the service) or even a phrase, depending on the interface of the particular database. Examples appear below. All of these link directly to the PennText Services Menu.
- Why don't I see any PennText buttons in my search result?
In order to support PennText, a database must use open urls. Open urls are a general protocol that convey metadata. In the case of PennText, the metadata relates to a specific bibliographic citation. Among the databases that are not open url enabled are LexisNexis and Factiva. In time more vendors will enable open urls in their databases and our ability to provide links to full text will increase.
- Why don't I see the PennText icon in the same place in each database?
The placement of the PennText button is often controlled by the vendor of the particular resource. In most cases, the button will appear in the initial results screen, adjacent to each individual citation retrieved in a search. In some databases, however, the button appears only on the screen once the citation is viewed.
- When I clicked on the Franklin link in the Services Menu why didn't I get any hits?
It is possible that the library does not subscribe to the print version of the resource, or the electronic version has not yet been added to the catalog. When Franklin is searched, PennText looks for a unique standard number for a journal (ISSN). If this number is not present in the catalog record, the search will be unsuccessful. It is also possible that the link from the electronic citation to Franklin is not accurate. We strive to maintain the accuracy of Franklin and all PennText links and address problems as they are discovered. If you encounter an inaccurate link, or if you need assistance in locating a journal title, please contact us using our Comments/Questions Form.
- How can I save an article link to use on a web page or in courseware?
Click on the Persistent Citation link in the lower half of the Services Menu. The url for the article can be copied and saved on your desktop or in your document. [additional info coming soon]
- Which resources are PennText enabled?
The following database are, or soon will be, PennText enabled.
Database PennText Icon Vendor AARP Ageline Ovid ABI/Inform ProQuest Abstracts in Social Gerontology OCLC Academic Index Gale Group ACP Journal Club OVID AGRICOLA 
Ovid Alternative Press Index OCLC America: History & Life ABC-Clio ARTBibliographies Modern CSA Art Index Ovid Art Index Retrospective Wilson ASFA Aquaculture CSA ATLA Religion OCLC Avery Index RLG Bibliography of Native North Americans Ovid/WebSPIRS Bibliography of the History of Art RLG BIOSIS Previews Ovid Business Source Premier EBSCO CAB Abstracts Ovid Chicano Database RLG CINAHL Ovid Cochrane Controlled Trials Register Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Ovid Communication Abstracts CSA Criminal Justice Abstracts Ovid/WebSPIRS Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness
Ovid Econlit Ovid Education Index Wilson Educational Administration Abstracts OCLC ERIC (from CSA) CSA ERIC (from EBSCO) EBSCO Evidence Based Medicine Reviews Ovid FirstSearch OCLC Francis RLG GeoRef OCLC Health & Psychosocial Instruments Ovid HealthSTAR/Ovid Healthstar Ovid Historical Abstracts ABC-Clio History of Science, Technology and Medicine RLG Index Islamicus CSA Index of Foreign Legal Periodicals RLG Inside Information Plus RLG International Bibliography of the Social Sciences CSA IOP IOPP & IAEA ISI Citation Indexes ISI Journals@OVID Ovid Linguistic and Language Behavior Abstracts Ovid/WebSPIRS MathSciNet AMS Metadex CSA Medline Ovid MLA International Bibliography Ovid OneFile Gale Group Peace Research Abstract Journal OCLC Philosopher's Index Ovid/WebSPIRS PreMedline Ovid PsycINFO CSA PubMed NCBI Regional Business News EBSCO RILM Abstracts of Music Literature OCLC Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies RLG Sage Family Studies Abstracts OCLC Sage Urban Studies Abstracts OCLC Social Services Abstracts CSA Social Work Abstracts Ovid/WebSPIRS Sociological Abstracts CSA Web of Science ISI Worldwide Political Science Abstracts CSA
