<p>This is a subjective question and what is useful would depend on from which domain of cognitive science the article originated. In general, I prefer when the PDF looks like the journal article (i.e., no formatting to indicate links). </p>

<p>Here is a list of things that I find useful:</p>

<ul>
<li>Links from in text citations to the location of the full reference</li>
<li>Links from references to the full-text resource</li>
<li>Links between Table and figure references with the actual figure</li>
<li>Table of contents tied to sections in the article</li>
<li>URLs and emails that can be clicked on</li>
<li>Tables with exportable data</li>
<li>If the article includes supplementary material, links to that material that work and do not require password access.</li>
</ul>

<p>A few extra things that might be nice perhaps in the HTML version:</p>

<ul>
<li>Ability to export both the article reference and the references in the  article in various bibliographic formats (e.g., bibtex, Endnote, etc.)</li>
<li>Page view, download, and citation statistics</li>
<li>RSS feed options for the journal</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-11T05:09:45.260Z
2012-11-11T11:45:56.700Z
2012-11-11T11:45:56.700Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>After searching PubMed or Google Scholar researchers often arrive at a publisher's full-text article page. Assuming that you have access to the full-text access, <strong>what contextual links should be included within the article?</strong> i,e links to Brain Atlas, links to Gene Databases</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-07T01:42:57.963Z
Thanks for asking. I've given this question an edit, but I'm still not sure whether it is a good fit for the site. It is fairly subjective and could potentially vary a lot across disciplines.
Jeromy Anglim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-07T01:44:23.297Z
Also to clarify, are you talking only about links in the PDF/HTML of the full-text article or are you also talking about side bar links (e.g., options to export bibliographic information links to related articles, view statistics, etc.)
Jeromy Anglim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-07T07:22:18.923Z
I don't think there's any definitive answer to this at all, it's not more than a poll (I meant to clarify that earlier but I got sidetracked).
Chuck Sherrington
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-09T15:07:37.357Z
I'm in agreement, this feels too subjective to me. user2366, we expect questions on this site to have a definitive *correct* answer, and I'm not sure this question has one...
Josh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-19T00:10:44.627Z
I think this question might be off-topic for here, and a better fit at [academia.SE](http://academia.stackexchange.com/)
Artem Kaznatcheev
<publication-process>
What contextual links would make full-text journal articles more useful?
user2366
# What contextual links would make full-text journal articles more useful?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-06)

After searching PubMed or Google Scholar researchers often arrive at a publisher's full-text article page. Assuming that you have access to the full-text access, **what contextual links should be included within the article?** i,e links to Brain Atlas, links to Gene Databases

**Tags:** publication-process

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Thanks for asking. I've given this question an edit, but I'm still not sure whether it is a good fit for the site. It is fairly subjective and could potentially vary a lot across disciplines.  
> **username_1**: Also to clarify, are you talking only about links in the PDF/HTML of the full-text article or are you also talking about side bar links (e.g., options to export bibliographic information links to related articles, view statistics, etc.)  
> **username_2**: I don't think there's any definitive answer to this at all, it's not more than a poll (I meant to clarify that earlier but I got sidetracked).  
> **username_3**: I'm in agreement, this feels too subjective to me. username_0, we expect questions on this site to have a definitive *correct* answer, and I'm not sure this question has one...  
> **username_4**: I think this question might be off-topic for here, and a better fit at [academia.SE](http://academia.stackexchange.com/)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-11-11. Score: 1

This is a subjective question and what is useful would depend on from which domain of cognitive science the article originated. In general, I prefer when the PDF looks like the journal article (i.e., no formatting to indicate links).

Here is a list of things that I find useful:

* Links from in text citations to the location of the full reference
* Links from references to the full-text resource
* Links between Table and figure references with the actual figure
* Table of contents tied to sections in the article
* URLs and emails that can be clicked on
* Tables with exportable data
* If the article includes supplementary material, links to that material that work and do not require password access.

A few extra things that might be nice perhaps in the HTML version:

* Ability to export both the article reference and the references in the article in various bibliographic formats (e.g., bibtex, Endnote, etc.)
* Page view, download, and citation statistics
* RSS feed options for the journal


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