Alternative ways to get articles

- use Open Access

Here we present three free alternative ways to get access to scientific references.

PilOpen Access databases and archives
PilOpen Access tools (i.e., browser plug-ins)
PilContact the author - use your network - get a copy from the author directly

Open Access

More than one third of all scientific publications is found freely accessible on the internet today - as Open Access.

Databases and archives
At DTU Library we have gathered a collection of Open Access databases relevant to the research areas of DTU. Databases accessible in DTU Findit are marked with a *.

  • DTU Findit (https://findit.dtu.dk)
    DTU Findit is our online library catalog. Several Open Access databases are integrated in DTU Findit providing access to 33 million Open Access publications in the DTU research areas.
    Your search for Open Access publications should always start in DTU Findit.
     
  • ArXiv * (https://arxiv.org/)
    The oldest preprint archive (from 1991) with app.2 million preprints and post-prints. Relevant in physics, mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, and related disciplines. You can find preprints from ArXiv in DTU Findit.
     
  • BASE * (https://www.base-search.net/)
    Bielefeld Academic Search Engine index includes 113 million documents from app. 10.000 sources, and app. 60 % is Open Access.
    BASE is partly overlapping CORE.
     
  • bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/)
    bioRxiv is a free online archive for unpublished preprints in biology. The archive is drifted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
     
  • ChemRxiv * (https://chemrxiv.org/)
    ChemRxiv is a preprint archive in areas related to chemical science. ChemRxiv contains approximately 38,000 preprints.
     
  • CORE * (https://core.ac.uk/)
    CORE is a search engine harvesting and indexing more than 245 million articles.
    CORE is partly overlapping BASE.
     
  • DOAJ * (https://www.doaj.org)
    Directory of Open Access Journals registers more than 18.000 scientific peer reviewed Open Access journals and includes almost 8 million articles.
    You will find preprints and post-prints from DOAJ in DTU Findit.
     
  • EarthArXiv (https://eartharxiv.org/)
    EarthArXiv is a preprint archive covering all subdomains of Earth science and related domains of planetary science. EarthArXiv contains approximately 6,000 preprints.
     
  • EngrXiv (https://engrxiv.org/)
    EngrXiv accepts scholarly work from across the engineering field, broadly defined, if the author can be identified and has the legal right to share. EngrXiv includes both preprints and Open Access articles.
     
  • ESS Open Arhive (https://essopenarchive.org/)
    The Earth and Space Science Open Archive is a preprint archive within Earth, environmental and space science research.
     
  • Europe PMC (https://europepmc.org/) 
    Europe PMC is an Open Science platform gathering pre-prints from different sources. Europe PMC and PubMed Central are partners.
     
  • Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com)
    Google Scholar is a science focused search engine on the internet which indexes millions of academic publications - both pay and Open Access publications.
     
  • HAL (https://hal.science/)
    HAL is a multidisciplinary open archive that provides access to research results, whether they are published or not. HAL contains approximately 1.6 million scientific publications. In France, HAL serves as the national archive.
     
  • Hydraulic Engineering Repository (https://henry.baw.de/home)
    HENRY hydraulic engineering repository offers to publish, verify and permanently store scientific publications related to the field of hydraulic engineering. HENRY contains approximately 14,000 Open Access publications.
     
  • MedRxiv (https://www.medrxiv.org/)
    MedRxiv is a preprint archive covering medical, clinical, and related health sciences.
        
  • Openalex * (https://openalex.org/)
    OpenAlex indexes approximately 60 million Open Access publications from both publisher websites and repository platforms. Content from OpenAlex is also searchable in DTU Findit.
      
  • Open AIRE (https://explore.openaire.eu/)
    A global network for Open Access repositories, covering more than 145 million publications, 18 million data sets, and more.
     
  • OSF Pre-prints (https://osf.io/preprints/)
    Is a preprint server giving access to more than 2 million preprints. OSF searches through range of preprint archives including ArXiv. It covers Engineering, Physical Sciences, Mathematics,  Medicine, and Health Sciences.
     
  • PubMed Central * (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/)
    PubMed Central is an Open Access full text archive covering biomedical and life sciences on National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine.
    PubMed Central is searchable in DTU Findit.
     
  • Science Open (https://www.scienceopen.com/)
    Search platform with 36 million Open Access publications.
     
  • Semantic Scholar (https://www.semanticscholar.org/)
    Search engine for science on the internet.
     
  • TechRxiv (https://www.techrxiv.org/)
    TechRxiv is an open, moderated preprint archive for unpublished research in engineering, computer science, and related technology.

          

Browser plug-in

Several browser plug-ins can help you tell if an article you would like is Open Access. Installing a free plug-in in your browser will give you access to the articles. Beware of the which plug-ins work in which browser.

Contact the author - use your network

Alternatively, you can try contacting the author/s directly since the author often has the right to share his/her articles with peers. Use your personal network or use established research networks which support sharing of articles between peers i.e., ResearchGate or Academia.edu.

Get a copy for the author