Ask a Librarian : Find Full-Text Articles with DOI and the A-Z List

Previously, we showed you how to use the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) in Google to locate the full-text of an article. In come cases, Affinity full-text access to a particular article may reside on the “invisible web” in a subscribed full-text collection like Cinahl-FT or MDConsult, rather than directly at the publisher’s website. Contrary to popular belief, Google tends to miss these deep links. In these cases, we have another tool to help us track down the full-text.


If you know the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for a particular article (example: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2007.00665.x), you can often use the DOI for quick access.

Use the search box on the Affinity A-Z Journals List.

How to get there : Affinity Intranet > Library > A-Z Journals List

Click on the drop-down arrow to change the default from PubMedID to DOI.


Enter the DOI and click Search. Tip : A quick cut and paste may be the easiest option to limit typos.

Magically, the citation will appear without you having entered any of the parts.

In this case, the article is “Harry Potter & the Curse of Headache” in the clinical medical journal Headache.
     Below the citation, you’ll see our Affinity options for full-text.
     Click on one of the Article links to see the full-text.

In this case, we’re taken out to the publisher’s website.

     * You can read the full article on your computer screen as html.
     * Click on the PDF link if you want to print a copy on paper.

If you still can’t get to the full-text, contact your Librarians. We have a few more tools to get you the info and articles you’re looking for. Let us do the searching for you. ;-)

Questions or comments? Contact your Librarians via phone or Outlook :
          Michele Matucheski 3-0340 MMC Library
          Margo Lambert 8-2857 STE Library

Getting to the Full-Text Tutorials [Affinity Access Only]:
          When You Have a Citation – Part 1 ) Using the PubMed Citation Matcher
          When You Have a Citation – Part 2) A-Z List PubMed ID Shortcut
          When You are Searching – Part 3) Google Scholar and Affinity Full-Text
          When You Have a DOI - Part 4) Using Google and DOI
          When You Have a DOI – Part 5) Using the A-Z List and DOI