Q. Why am I having trouble getting the full text of articles in Scopus/Web of Science?

Scopus and Web of Science are databases of citations, not full text articles.

Unfortunately, the "Download PDF" button in these databases is a bit misleading because it doesn't actually download the full text of the article, just the article citation. 

Instead, the best way to find out whether or not the full text of an article is available in Scopus or Web of Science is to click on the button found in the article record marked "Check for full text."

This will connect you to the Library's databases, and will show you if the full text is available. The article linker tool will either give you a link to the full text in another database, or, if the full text is unavailable, you can click the button to "Request Item through Interlibrary Loan" to submit the form to the Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Services (ILL/DDS) department.

You can also use the Journal Finder to find out definitively whether or not our Library provides full text online access to a particular journal. 

Find more information about these databases on the Citation Index Databases research guide.