*Resources for Instruction in the Social Sciences

Open Access:

• is information that is:
  • Free to read
  • Unrestricted
  • Online

• is a movement that wants to increase information access and innovation.
• usually refers to open access publishing, particularly of scholarly communication in academia.
• a way to address the serials / scholarly communication crisis, which refers to the system where information is locked up in subscription journals and databases whose prices keep rising (as library and university budgets stagnate or decrease) and universities and libraries are forced to pay for the creation of the research as well as to buy it back through subscriptions.
• is about the democratization of information and knowledge.
• is carried out largely through open access journals, subject specific and institutional repositories, where research is posted online for anyone to access. These are indexed by Google and other search engines increasing visibility and impact of the research.

Want to see if there's an Open Access resource in your subject area (and there probably is)? Try here!

Open Access is happening everywhere, even right here at Georgia State! Check out these local OA resources.

Many of the resources the U.S. Government produces are considered open access. Check these out!