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If you are a psychology student or taking any sort of social science class, then you will need to be able toread and understand the articlesfound in scientific research journals. Such articles describe different psychology studies on a wide range of subjects. As you are writing papers or conducting your own research, these journals can provide helpful background information and other sources to investigate.

Fortunately, there are a number of psychology, social science, and medical journals that offerfreefull-text articles, often labeled “open-access” journals. Full-text journals may be especially useful for people with limited access to academic libraries or online databases and for students living in rural areas or studying via distance education.

This article will review a selection of journals, databases, archives, and search engines that offer access to full-text articles, each with its own benefits and limitations.

Full-Text Psychology Journals

You might consider starting your search with journals that offer full-text, electronic versions of their content. Whether these journals offer the material you need for your research depends on the topic you are researching and the specific guidelines of your assignment.

Recently published articles may not be immediately available. Many journals that offer full-text versions of their content do so after a waiting period that may last anywhere from one month to one year after publication.

These journals represent just some of the resources that are available online. If you are still looking for additional research, pay a visit to your university library. In many cases, your school’s library may have access to a number of different research databases where you can find free full-text journal articles for your research.

Finding Free Full-Text Articles

In addition to looking at specific journals that provide access to full-text articles free of charge, it can be helpful to know how to find them in a more general sense. You can do a broader search for articles using the following archives, databases, and search engines:

CogPrints

Taylor & Francis Online

Taylor & Francisprovides hundreds of open-access journals to search, with full-text articles, includingHealth Psychology & Behavioral Medicine, Psychology Research and Behavior Management,andNature and Science of Sleep.

Google Scholar

You can search for any topic usingGoogle Scholar, and it will pull a list of journal articles, books, and other sources for you to consider. The more specific your search terms, the better. If you come across articles that only have abstracts or the first page, don’t give up. Some authors may post the full content on their personal websites as HTML links or downloadable PDFs, or you may find the article available in other formats on other academic sites or journal databases. Do a little more digging (or googling).

JAMA Open Network

TheJAMA networkhas 13 journals, of which two are fullyopen access(JAMA Network OpenandJAMA Health Forum). However, JAMA allows authors from within any of the other specialty network journals to publish their articles in an open-access format giving the public immediate access to many of their current publications. Otherwise, there is a 6 to 12-month wait to view the full text which becomes available in PubMed Central.

Public Library of Science

PLOS One: The Public Library of Science provides open access to 12 journals that are peer-reviewed covering research in medicine and other scientific disciplines including psychology.PLOS Mental Healthis a specific section covering mental health research.

PubMed Central

Sage Journals

SpringerLinkoffers open access to journal articles and other resources. While not all of the content on the site is available in full-text, or free, many journals provide “gold” open access which allows immediate access to their published articles. To narrow down the search to full-text, open-access journals, you have to unselect the box that says “include preview-only content.” You can find journals likeCrime Science,Journal of Eating Disorders,andBioPsychoSocial Medicine.

The Cochrane Library

RecapIn addition to finding sources in journals that publish full-print versions online, you can also look through databases and sites that may contain full-text psychology journal articles. If you find an abstract for an article that seems like it might be a good source, a simple online search can often turn up a full version of the article.

Recap

In addition to finding sources in journals that publish full-print versions online, you can also look through databases and sites that may contain full-text psychology journal articles. If you find an abstract for an article that seems like it might be a good source, a simple online search can often turn up a full version of the article.

A Word From Verywell

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.JAMA Network.For authors.Wiley Online Library.Issue information.CSH Press.Open access option.Cambridge Core.About The BJPsych.Society for Neuroscience.Rights and permissions.Singh A, Singh M, Singh AK, Singh D, Singh P, Sharma A.Free full text articles": Where to search for them?Int J Trichology. 2011;3(2):75-79. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.90803

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.JAMA Network.For authors.Wiley Online Library.Issue information.CSH Press.Open access option.Cambridge Core.About The BJPsych.Society for Neuroscience.Rights and permissions.Singh A, Singh M, Singh AK, Singh D, Singh P, Sharma A.Free full text articles": Where to search for them?Int J Trichology. 2011;3(2):75-79. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.90803

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

JAMA Network.For authors.Wiley Online Library.Issue information.CSH Press.Open access option.Cambridge Core.About The BJPsych.Society for Neuroscience.Rights and permissions.Singh A, Singh M, Singh AK, Singh D, Singh P, Sharma A.Free full text articles": Where to search for them?Int J Trichology. 2011;3(2):75-79. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.90803

JAMA Network.For authors.

Wiley Online Library.Issue information.

CSH Press.Open access option.

Cambridge Core.About The BJPsych.

Society for Neuroscience.Rights and permissions.

Singh A, Singh M, Singh AK, Singh D, Singh P, Sharma A.Free full text articles": Where to search for them?Int J Trichology. 2011;3(2):75-79. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.90803

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