Finding open research
There are many ways to find open research. Whether you are searching for something specific or resources on a topic, it’s best to begin your search in Library SEARCH or the Library databases, as these contain both subscription resources and open research. Tips for effective searching in the databases are on the Starting your research page.
Beyond Library SEARCH and the Library databases, these are some additional tools and resources that will help you to locate open research.
Open access repositories
An open access repository is a database of theses, articles and other research which is openly available, and allows you to search by keyword or topic. The following are a small selection of open access repositories:
- Research Online is UOW’s open access repository and contains a selection of works produced by UOW authors.
- CORE is a collection of open access research papers, indexed from journals and repositories worldwide.
- BASE is a collection or academic resources, indexed from journals, repositories and digital collections worldwide.
- DOAJ is an index of open access, scholarly journals from around the world.
- DOAB is an index of open access, scholarly, peer-reviewed books from around the world.
Finding theses & dissertations
Theses and dissertations are produced by Postgraduate and PhD students worldwide. While some theses and dissertations go on to be published works in books or journal articles, most are available only through institutional repositories.
If you’re looking for a specific thesis or dissertation and you know which university it was completed through, you can go directly to their institutional repository to search. University of Wollongong PhD theses are available in Research Online. The following databases allow you to search for theses or dissertations by topic or keywords:
Using browser extensions
Browser extensions are tools that you add to your web browser to assist with locating articles. They work by redirecting you from a paywalled article to the open access version, where available. There are a few different browser extensions available, so you may want to test them out and see which you prefer to use:
- EndNote Click connects you to both UOW-subscribed content and open access versions where available.
- Unpaywall connects you to open access versions of papers where available.
- Open Access Button connects you to open access versions of papers where available.
Still can’t find it?
If you’re still unable to locate a copy of the article, thesis or book chapter that you’re looking for, you can request a copy through the Library’s document delivery service.
Finding open data
Searching for open data can be complex as it may be published in a variety of locations including repositories, archives and websites. Understanding what data you require can help you develop an efficient and effective search strategy. More information can be found on our Statistics and data guide.
Finding open educational resources (OER)
Much like open data, OER can be found in a variety of locations, depending on who has produced the resource.
If you’re interested in finding OER for use in your teaching, information is available in our Support for teaching and learning: open educational resources guide.
