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View Full Version : online access is a farce, but what did you expect?


fossildoc
06-30-2008, 11:21 PM
They finally posted the login instructions for the so-called online access to medical journals and textbooks. I knew it was a phoney when I read the title: "EBSCO host Database Trial Access..."

Did you get the word "Trial"?

The service consists of several "Databases", most of which are nonsense consumer-oriented health tips (brush daily and don't forget to floss). The only substantive feature is "MEDLINE with Full Text", which boasts "full text for more than 1,370 journals indexed in MEDLINE". The problem is that it's a lie. I spent considerable time searching 2008 editions of various journals, and all I was able to get were abstracts, in the same format I get without having to log on to EBSCO. Oh, yes, I did stumble upon one journal that gave me pdf full text access. Apparently that was the "token" journal to give us a taste of what the real service would be like if the school should ever pay for it (fat chance).

In its current form, the service is a farce and isn't worth the effort of fooling with it.

ind3r
07-03-2008, 08:58 AM
If you are ever interested, there is a site similar to Medline called pubmed centeral. It contains searchable journal articles (full, in .pdf format) as well as journals themselves, it's quite extensive. It's free, up to date and quite useful if you're doing research.

fossildoc
07-03-2008, 09:02 AM
If you are ever interested, there is a site similar to Medline called pubmed centeral. It contains searchable journal articles (full, in .pdf format) as well as journals themselves, it's quite extensive. It's free, up to date and quite useful if you're doing research.

Thank you for the tip. I am painfully familiar with PubMed. It generates abstracts, some of which point to free, full text articles, but most are not free. Most require a hefty per-download charge, generally around $25. Spend some more time with it, then post your findings.