10. Unpaywall and other services helped make academic papers accessible
At first, this might seem like a minor issue. Who cares about getting to access boring old journal articles, anyway? Of course, savvy readers can spot some major holes in that argument right away.
The major issue, naturally enough, centers on concerns about knowledge and empowerment. In simple terms, the more you know, the more you are able to change your own circumstances and that of the community around you.
That’s why the issue of academic access is so troubling. Many academic journals charge substantial subscription fees, to the point where critics charge that they are unfairly profiting from the supply and demand forces in their market. Then again, it can be costly to produce these journals and maintain a rigorous peer review process for accepted articles.
Still, unless you’re a student with access to a large university’s database subscriptions, accessing these resources can be tough. If you’re at a smaller university or college with a tighter budget, you might not even have this avenue.
For those outside of the higher education system who want to research something or are simply curious, a journal’s paywall can feel like a literal one. Currently, it’s estimated that 75% of scientific articles are locked up behind a paywall. The dominance of a few publishers in academia make matters even worse.
How can people get access to scholarly articles now?
There are less-than-legal ways of accessing articles. Suffice it to say, these methods are pretty controversial. Happily, there are more and more honest ways to get the information you require.
Unpaywall is a free Chrome browser plugin released this year that can let you know if there are open access versions of a given article. When you land on a paper locked away behind a paywall, Unpaywall can let you know if there’s an unlocked version elsewhere.
Other resources for you knowledge-seekers out there include JSTOR, which includes access to some articles via a free membership. You may also want to check out the Directory of Open Access Journals, which collects information for high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly journals.