by Carla Pfahl
Quick Summary
If you would like to view an article with any multimedia that was included in the original publication look to see if there is a link to the PDF version from the record display page.
ELM has over 50 different databases, each with its own set of publications (hundreds to thousands!), that cover many topics useful for researchers, students, and the general public. Many databases offer two different options for displaying articles - HTML Full Text and PDF Full Text. What's the difference between the two? An HTML Full Text article display will have just the text of the article. Images and other multimedia are typically not included. Often, it's helpful to see the images, tables, charts, and graphs that are included with an article, similar to how the print version would appear.
If you would like to view an article with any multimedia that was included in the original publication look to see if there is a link to a PDF version from within the record details.
In this example, I searched MasterFILE Complete for a product review of vacuum cleaners and found a recent article from Consumer Reports:
The HTML Full Text includes a version of a table used in the publication but it doesn't translate very well to HTML Full Text:
Viewing the PDF Full Text version shows the table how it was intended to be displayed:
When accessing articles don't forget to see if there are different options for display. It could make a big difference!
