Finding Known Journal Articles: Comparing a Citation Linker to an A-to-Z List

[Eugene Garfield]

Finding Known Journal Articles: Comparing a Citation Linker to an A-to-Z List

Author(s): Ponsford, BC (Ponsford, Bennett Claire); Sewell, RR (Sewell, Robin 
R.); Stephens, J (Stephens, Jane)
Source: SERIALS REVIEW  Volume: 37  Issue: 2  Pages: 93-98  DOI: 
10.1016/j.serrev.2011.01.004  Published: JUN 2011  

Abstract: OpenURL links provide access to full-text articles from citation 
databases; however, end users who have found citations outside of library 
databases must find the full text of their journal articles another way. Many 
OpenURL link resolvers offer a citation finder service which allows the end user 
to search for specific known items at the article level. This paper studies the 
usability of the "citation linker" search from Ex Libris' SFX (R). Twenty-one 
volunteers tested finding known journal articles using both a standard A-to-Z 
list and SFX' citation linker search. The researchers compare results from the 
two search interfaces, document the problems found, recommend which 
interface makes the best default search interface, and suggest improvements 
to the citation linker interface. Serials Review 2011; 37:93-98. (C) 2011 
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: English
Document Type: Article
KeyWords Plus: USABILITY; LIBRARIES

Addresses: [Ponsford, BC; Sewell, RR] Texas A&M Univ, Med Sci Lib, College 
Stn, TX 77843 USA
Reprint Address: Ponsford, BC (reprint author), Texas A&M Univ, Med Sci Lib, 
College Stn, TX 77843 USA

E-mail Address: bennett.ponsford at tamu.edu, rsewell009 at library.tamu.edu, 
jstephens at library.tamu.edu
ISSN: 0098-7913
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098791311000062