Open access (OA) refers to the free and unrestricted access to literature; in other words, making research available online with no cost to the reader. Many researchers will be familiar with using or publishing OA material, but it is also a useful way to make important and up-to-date research easily available to students to support them in their modules. Because of this, the Library wants to promote OA resources as an excellent source of academic content that is available online with no access restrictions. Using OA resources is more important than ever to ensure that students can access all of their resources online.
Using OA resources on your reading lists means that:
Below is some guidance on where to find open access content. Please also take a look at the webinars delivered by our Academic Liaison Librarians on 'finding online resources for reading lists', as these also highlight ways to find open access resources with a faculty-specific focus. If you have any questions about finding open access content, please do get in touch.
Databases are a great place to start when searching for open access content. The list below highlights some of the most useful databases when looking for open access resources.
Another way to locate open access content is to find out which open access publications are provided by publishers you may use regularly in your discipline. Follow the links below to see the open access resources provided by different publishers.
The below tools have been created to make locating open access versions of resources more straightforward. The plug-ins can be added to your browser, and if you hit a paywall while searching for material, they will alert you if there is an open access version available, before giving you the option to view this open access version. Please note these browser pug-ins are freely available tools that are not supported by the University of Essex Library Services.