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Course & Subject Guides

Literature Reviews

This guide is designed to offer guidance for completing a literature review, and will link you to resources, techniques, and advanced approaches to conducting and writing a literature review.

Okay, I have a citation . . what now?

You've found some great citations, but how do you get the full-text?  Finding full-text can sometimes be tricky.  Try these steps when you have a citation:

1.  Start by searching PITTCat.

PITTCat will list all the journals we subscribe to either online or in paper. If the journal is online, the PITTCat record will offer a link directly to the journal database. If the ULS doesn't subscribe to the journal online, PITTCat will list any paper volumes and issues we have of that journal.

2.  Search for the journal via our Journal Finder:

The Journal Finder will tell you if we have an online subscription to the journal or publication you are seeking.  Search by the Journal title, and the result list will list the years available online.

3.  Maybe it's not online:

Not all publications are available online, or the ULS may not have an online subscription to the publication you are seeking.  Search PITTCat for the journal title to see if we have it in paper.  If we do, you can request that volume using the Get It link on the left.

If you don't find it in PITTCat, you can request the article for free through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). ILL lets you request books or articles that the ULS doesn't have.  Find out more in the box to the right, or on the Interlibrary Loan page. .

Request Material

You can request material through PittCat using Get It, even for material that we do not own. You must be signed in, then click on the item you need to see the full menu of options available.

Use 'Request' to receive print materials from a Pitt library or ULS - Thomas Blvd.

To make a request:

  1. Sign into your account in PittCat
  2. Find the item you want and click on the title
  3. Look for the Get It, Request options for the title.
  4. Follow the on-screen options to request your item
  5. You will be notified via your Pitt email address when the item is available

Additional questions? Please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.

You can request material through PittCat using Get It, even for material that we do not own. You must be signed in, then click on the item you need to see the full menu of options available.

Use 'Request' to receive a scanned book chapter or an article from print material.

To make a request:

  1. Sign into your account in PittCat
  2. Find the item you want and click on the title
  3. Look for the Get It, Request options for the title.
  4. Follow the on-screen options to request your item
  5. You will be notified via your Pitt email address when the item is available

Additional questions? Please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.

If you identify an item in PittCat that is not available through our collections, or if PittCat indicates that we have access to an item in error, you can request it through our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service.

ILL services are available to Pitt students, staff and faculty with a valid Pitt ID and Pitt computing account

• Articles can be downloadable from your list of requests 
• Loan periods and renewals vary depending on the lending institution
• A one-time user registration is required before making an ILL request.  You will not need to re-enter personal information every time you make a request

More Information

Additional Questions? Please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.