What are the best websites for accessing free research papers?

georgiatrujillo

georgiatrujillo

New member
I wanted to ask how popular and useful websites like Academia and ResearchGate are. Also, which free research paper sites do you recommend for researchers? Thanks.
 
For free, full-text research articles, Google Scholar is a great tool. Simply search for what you need, and you'll find thousands of articles. Many will be citations, but some will have full-text PDFs. Here's how to find them:
  • On Google Scholar, check the "All X versions" link below each result. Click it to see all versions, including those with PDF or HTML options for full-text access.
  • If Google Scholar doesn't have the full text, copy part of the article's title, go to regular Google, and search using filetype:pdf with the title snippet in quotes. This helps find other sources that might have the article.
Here are some other free databases you can use:
  1. PubMed Central: Offers over 2 million full-text studies on public health and policy.
  2. BioMed Central: Provides access to more than 100 free peer-reviewed journals in biology and medicine.
  3. Public Library of Science (PLoS): Features peer-reviewed research on science and medical topics.
  4. Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): A hub for searching open access journals globally.
  5. Science.gov: A gateway to U.S. government science resources and databases.
  6. Social Science Research Network: Offers many important papers available for free download.
  7. Mendeley: A free reference management tool with access to a large database of selected studies.
  8. OCLC World Catalog: The largest library catalog for finding books and more.
  9. Microsoft Academic Search: Connects researchers and their work with comprehensive profiles and citation analysis.
  10. National Bureau of Economic Research: Provides access to top economic research and working papers.
These resources cover a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, economics, social sciences, and more.

For more resources and ideas, you might also want to explore some essay and research paper platforms, where you can find samples and guides on how to write and access research papers:
These platforms can be useful for finding examples and guidance on academic writing, complementing your research with well-structured essays and papers.

Good luck!
 
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I can't count how many times Sci-Hub has saved me from paying for useless subscriptions that put research papers behind a paywall. These subscriptions pay the authors very little, even though they did all the hard work. Most authors don't get any royalties, and sometimes they even have to pay to publish their papers.
 
Most state universities subscribe to many online journals and allow the public to use their computers to access these journals for an hour if you are conducting serious research. These journals are distributed by various distributors, each focusing on specific topics. Check with your local university library to see if you can use this access. You might need to describe the type of work and journals you want to study.
 
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