Open Access Week: Discovering Open Access

My first three posts for Open Access Week reviewed the pros and cons of the various options available for providing open access to your research. However, once OA research is produced, how does one go about finding or discovering it? My blog is devoted to helping with that very task. If you are a regular follower, then you know that I produce bi-monthly round-ups of the open access literature that I have referenced.  I also try to keep track of the green and hybrid OA versions of articles published in IJRL, JRS and RSQ; these are listed on special pages in my Forced Migration & Open Access blog (see the various tabs at the top of the page). In addition, I maintain a listing of open access books on my book blog, and I track open access book chapters.

But despite these efforts, I know I miss a lot! In the end, I am only one person who is constrained by language and time. So what are some other resources for finding open access research related to refugees and forced migration, particularly that which is produced in the Global South?

Here are a few places to start:

African Journals Online (AJOL)
- Use this resource to identify research that originated in Africa. Not all articles are open access, but many of those that are not, may be freely available to certain users. Check the Researchers page for more info.

Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
- Use this resource to look for open access journal articles, books, theses, and other academic materials. The advanced search option allows you to focus in on content produced geographically, i.e., region or individual country.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Use this resource to not only identify gold OA journals to publish in, but also to locate articles that have already been published. While the advanced search feature does not have a geographic filter, you can limit your results to a particular language.

Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)
- Use this resource to locate institutional and disciplinary repositories around the world.

Journals Online Project (JOL)
- Based on the AJOL model; locate journals and journal articles from Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Central America.

Red de Bibliotecas Virtuales (CLACSO)
- Provides access to the content produced by a network of Latin American research centers and academic programmes, and serves as an open access journal and book repository.

Red de Revistas Cientificas de America Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal (Redalyc)
- Use this resource to discover open access academic content originating from or that focuses on Ibero-America.

Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas (LA Referencia)
- This resource aims to promote the visibility of open access academic content from Latin America.

Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)
- Use this resource to locate open access journals and journal articles published in Latin American countries, Portugal, South Africa and Spain.

In the end, different regions have different approaches to and views on open access, and this ultimately impacts discoverability.  Visit Unesco's Global Open Access Portal to get an overview of the status of open access on a regional basis.

Tagged Publications and Web Sites/Tools.