How to get free access to scientific articles
Discover how to find open-access versions of research articles without paying.
When you encounter a paywall
It is quite common to come across a paywall when searching for scientific articles. Many journals require a subscription or payment for access. If you are not a CBS student or researcher, you typically do not have access to the licences that grant access to the full text of the articles.
What can you do?
Try the Unpaywall tool, developed by the non-profit organisation OurResearch. Unpaywall can be installed as a browser extension and a small icon will indicate whether a free version of the article you wish to read is available.
Install Unpaywall in your Chrome browser
If you have several articles you wish to check at once, you can enter the articles’ DOIs (permanent links) and receive an overview of which ones are available.
Be aware that the version of the article found by Unpaywall does not necessarily look like the publisher’s version. This is because many publishers allow the author’s "accepted manuscript" to be made freely available on university websites. The "accepted manuscript" has undergone peer review, so the text and results are just as useful as in the publisher’s final version. The document may simply not look quite as polished.
What is Open Access?
Open Access means that research publications are freely available online without payment. This allows everyone to read articles that would otherwise require a subscription. Many researchers – including those at CBS – now publish via Open Access to ensure broad access to their research.