Skills at Library home

Unlocking information

Unlock articles & research

★★☆ intermediate

During your search process, it is normal to encounter some challenges along the way. When searching online, you may find that access to an article or piece of research is limited to subscribers, or that there is a charge to access it. This section will help you find free access to resources. 

This section on unlocking articles and research covers finding the full text of articles and research:

• Using the Library Search
• Using browser extensions to find free to access resources when you are searching on the internet.
• Using our Inter-Library Loans service.

Step one: using the Library Search

Databases cover a large amount of content, but not all of them offer full text access to all the content. If the database you are searching does not give full text access to the article you are interested in, try searching for the article or journal in the Library Search. We may have access through a different provider.

Step two: full text browser extensions

Browser extensions can help you find full text access to resources when you are searching on the internet. Like Google Scholar Library Links, browser plugins find free full text access either through the library, or through open access resources.

Libkey Nomad is a browser plugin which will help you find free access to resources when you are searching the internet. When you are searching online, a button will appear next to any content that is freely accessible, for you to click through to the full text. 

Libkey Nomad is loaded on the Library computers. To install it on your own device dowload LibKey Nomad and choose University of Essex in the Select Organization list.

To find out more about using browser extensions and find out more about open access resources, have a look at the Open Access Content page. 

Alternatives to LibKey:

• EndNote Click (formerly Kopernio)

  As well as directing you to open access versions of resources, EndNote Click (formerly Kopernio) also offers the option of saving articles that you find.

• Unpaywall

  Harvesting open access content from over 50,000 publishers and repositories, this plug-in directs you to open access versions of paywalled content.

• Open Access Button

  Alongside directing you to open access versions, this plug-in also allows requests to be sent to authors for unavailable open access versions

• Lazy Scholar

  As well as directing to open access content, Lazy Scholar offers other functions such as related paper recommendations and saving your search history.

Step three: Inter-library loans

If the article or research you need isn't available through the library and you can't find a free version of it online, we may still be able to help. Our Interlibrary Loans team can supply materials from other libraries.

• You can request a loan for a book or dissertation thesis, or a copy of a book chapter or journal article.
• This is a useful way to obtain material needed for personal research or study.
• The library will let you know if we cannot source the item you request.

To find out more, check the details on the Interlibrary Loans page.

Here's some quick tips:

• Remember, the Library provides access to a wide range of resources that you can access for free.
• Explore the key resources listed on your Subject Guide to learn about the best ones to use for your area of study.
• Browser extensions can help you find free access to resources online. Try Libkey Nomad.
• Remember to use Library Links in Google Scholar to find library resources when you're not using the Library search.
• If there are resources you would like to access that are not available in the Library’s collection, you can request it through the interlibrary loans service.

Except where otherwise noted, this work by University of Essex Library and Cultural Services is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.