Databases and Search Engines
- Directory of Open Access Journals
Started at Lund University in Switzerland in 2003, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) has long been an advocate and supporter of high quality, peer reviewed journals. The database now contains 12,000 open access journals that must go through a selective process and are monitored for adherence to the DOAJ standards for quality publishing. - PubMed
PubMed compiles over 29 million citations of articles in the biomedical sciences. Full text articles are not stored at PubMed, but the site will provide links to access articles that are published as Open Access and are available freely on the web. - OATD - Open Access Theses and Dissertations
OATD had indexed almost 5 million graduate theses and dissertations made available through open access.
Repositories
The resources listed below will not take you directly to information resources, but instead provide access points and information on various institutional repositories around the world.
- OpenDOARThe Directory of Open Access Repositories is maintained by the University of Nottingham. OpenDOAR requires repositories to go through a submission and evaluation process in order to be included in the directory, however it still sits as the second largest directory of repositories in the world. While it will not be able to direct you to specific articles, it can direct you to open access repositories where you might be able to find archived articles that meet your information needs.
- ROARThe largest directory of open access repository's in the world. the Registry of Open Access Repository's allows institutions to add their repository's to the directory directly. While it will not take you directly to an article, it might help you find a repository that will contain material that fits your needs.