Open Access

OneSearch is a great place to start your search for Open Access (OA) content. There are two basic methods for finding OA content using OneSearch. 

Method 1: Select OA content at the beginning of your search

1. On the library homepage, type your search query into the search bar.

2. Select Open Access from the dropdown menu located to the right of the search bar. 

3. Click Search.

Method 2: Filter for OA content after you have conducted an initial search

1. On the library homepage, type your search query into the search bar.

2. Retain the default OneSearch option in the dropdown menu located to the right of the search bar.

3. Click Search.

4. On the search results page:

• In the left-hand Refine Results menu next to your results list, check the box next to Open Access.
• If you wish to find only peer-reviewed journal articles, check the box next to Peer-Reviewed Journals as well. 
• Then click APPLY FILTERS in the window that pops up in the lower left corner of your browser window.  

 

Note: If you are are affiliated with UM and have a valid NetID, searching only for OA content will reduce the number of results that you would otherwise retrieve if you did not limit your search to OA content. We highlight the OA filter option here because if you are not affiliated with UM or do not have a NetID, you can still use library resources to find high-quality research and scholarship that has been published OA.

 

Finding the Open Access Version

Sometimes you will find a record with the Open Access label and a link to "Download PDF"; however, the "Download PDF" link leads to a login screen or paywall. 

Steps to take: Click on the article title to view the full record, then select the link to the OA version (e.g., Open Access version of full text found via: Unpaywall) from the Online Availability options.

Example: The following article record includes the Open Access label and a “Download PDF” link. The “Download PDF” link does not lead to the OA version of the article; however, in the full record for the article, you can see the link for the OA version (via Unpaywall) in the Online Availability section.

 

The OA landscape continues to change.

If you need help finding OA content, please contact a librarian for assistance. Email us, or call 406-243-6866.

There are a number of free online repositories and directories where you can find OA, peer-reviewed scholarly content:

CORE: "CORE (COnnecting REpositories) provides a comprehensive bibliographic database of the world’s scholarly literature, collecting and indexing research from repositories and journals."

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB): "DOAB...indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books and helps users to find trusted open access book publishers."

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): "DOAJ is...[an] index of diverse open access journals from around the world."

Digital Commons Network: "The Digital Commons Network brings together free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide. Curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, the Network includes a growing collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work."

Humanities Commons: "Discover the latest open-access scholarship and teaching materials" in the Humanities.

JSTOR Open and Free Content: JSTOR provides open access to journals, ebooks, and art collections via Artstor.

OAPEN: Online library of open access books.

Open Access Button: "Free, legal research articles delivered instantly or automatically requested from authors."

OpenAlex: "The open catalog to the global research system"

PubMed Central PMC: "PMC is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life science journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM)."

There is no "one-stop shop" for all Open Access scholarship. The tools and tips below can help you find Open Access scholarship, especially when you're looking for a specific journal article or item:

• Install a browser extension that helps you find Open Access versions of scholarly journals and other content:
  • CORE
  • EndNote Click (Chrome browser only)
  • Lazy Scholar (Chrome and Firefox browsers)
  • Open Access Button (Chrome browser only)
  • Unpaywall (Chrome browser only)

• Check the journal or publisher's web site. (Not all OA scholarship is indexed by the library.)
• Google Scholar often finds free versions of scholarly work
• OSF Preprints indexes many, but not ALL, online preprint repositories. Note: Preprints have not yet been peer-reviewed. They should be used with caution.
• If you're skeptical about the legitimacy of an OA journal article or book that you've found, it can be useful to use the Think.Check.Submit checklist to evaluate the publisher.