To search for an article by an Accession Number or Document ID you must know the specific database that issued that number. You might find the database name listed next to the Accession Number or Document ID in the citation.
Are you looking for a required Course Reading? It's faster and easier to go to the Course Guide for your course. This guide will link to required Library readings that have not been linked in the classroom yet. Course readings for many classes will be linked in the classroom. See the steps for finding your course guide.
Searching by Accession Number or Document ID can be tricky and unreliable because:
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these numbers are assigned by database companies and can change without warning
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the same article may be in more than one database and will have a different accession number or document ID in each
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database subscriptions change; that journal might no longer be in that database
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you must already know which database(s) holds the article in full text to know where to search
It is more reliable to look up articles by title using Google Scholar. Learn how to search for articles in Google Scholar.
If you still need to search by accession number, you can use the following method:
- On the Library homepage, click on Databases A-Z.
- Locate and click on the name of the database that has the article.
- Type the Accession number or Document ID into the database search box.
- In databases from EBSCO, change the Select a Field (optional) drop-down menu to AN Accession Number.
- Click Search. You should see the article as the only result or as a top result. If you do not, it is possible that you are not in the correct database or that the accession number is not correct.
More Information:
- How do I find a specific database?
- How do I find optional or supplemental readings?
- How do I find an article by DOI in Google Scholar?
- What is a citation?
Do you have other questions about finding articles? Ask a Librarian!