FAQ: Finding Full Text Articles - US and International Resources

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Question: Where can I find information about getting full text articles?

Answer:

You can find information about getting full text articles at:

• National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) Resources
• Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Resources
• International Resources
• Document Delivery - US and International

Some sites charge a fee for service or require registration. They are not a part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The NLM does not endorse any sites other than those produced by the NLM.

National Library of Medicine (NLM) Resources

• PubMed®
  PubMed is a database of biomedical and life sciences article citations, from 1948 to the present. Some journals cited in PubMed provide links to full-text articles which may charge a fee for full text. Contact your local library for interlibrary loan or contact the publisher to ask about getting whole article (if available).
  http://pubmed.gov
  
  

  To see what is available in full text, type your subject AND full text [sb]. For example, occupational diseases AND full text[sb].

  To see what you can get full text for free, type your subject AND free full text [sb]. For example, occupational diseases AND free full text[sb].

  Journals that provide some free full text through links in PubMed
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/linkout/journals/jourlists.cgi?typeid=2&type=journals&show=ALL&operation=Show
  
  Obtaining the Full Text of an Article using LinkOut®
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=helplinkout.section.using.Obtaining_the_Full_T

• Pubmed Central® (PMC®)
  Digital archive of free biomedical and life sciences journal literature
  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
• NCBI Bookshelf
  Full-text biomedical books
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=Books&itool=toolbar
• LocatorPlus®, NLM online catalog
  http://locatorplus.gov
  
  

  Limit your search by:

  • "Internet Resources." (Quick Limit) OR
  • "Electronic Resource" (Medium/Format) under "Set Limits Before Searching" OR
  • "Internet" (Location) under "Set Limits Before Searching"
• Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Communications Network (MIMCom) Research Resources
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mimcom/mimcomhomepage.html
• A local health sciences library in the US and US territories may also help you find free full text articles.
  http://nnlm.gov/

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Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Resources

• BioMed Central (BMC)
  http://www.biomedcentral.com/browse/journals/
• bnet, formerly FindArticles
  http://www.findarticles.com/
• DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals
  (Click "Health Sciences")
  http://www.doaj.org/
• FreeBooks4Doctors!
  http://www.freebooks4doctors.com/
• Free Medical Journals.com
  http://freemedicaljournals.com/
• Google Books and Google Scholar
  Require free registration; Free full-text on selected content
  http://books.google.com/
  http://scholar.google.com
• Highwire Press
  http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtl
• Medscape
  Requires free registration
  http://www.medscape.com
• Oxford Open Access Journals
  http://www.oxfordjournals.org/oxfordopen
• PLoS - Public Library of Science
  http://www.plos.org/journals/index.html
• Also, check your local public library
  http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries.shtml
• You may be able to get the article from the publisher
  Some publishers charge a fee.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/publisher.html

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International Resources

These organizations provide free or low-cost access to institutions or individuals in developing/transition countries and/or selected countries.

• BMJ Journals Online (British Medical Journal)
  http://www.bmjjournals.com/subscriptions/countries.shtml
• Geneva Foundation Free Medical Journals
  http://www.gfmer.ch/Medical_journals/Free_medical.php
• Global Development Network/British Library of Development Studies (GDN/BLDS)
  http://gdn-na.org/journals/
• Global HELP
  http://www.global-help.org/
• Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI)
  http://www.who.int/hinari/
• Highwire Press
  http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/devecon.dtl
• International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP)
  http://www.inasp.info
  Partnerships and free access links
  http://www.inasp.info/file/0bf4173e84e076b39ba98c46a0636972/publishers-working-with-inasp.html
• JSTOR - African Access Initiative
  http://www.jstor.org/page/info/participate/new/fees/africanAccess.jsp
  
  JSTOR - Developing Nations Access Initiative
  http://www.jstor.org/page/info/participate/new/fees/devNations.jsp
• POPLINE: POPulation information onLINE, Johns Hopkins University
  Reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, population, demography and environmental health
  http://db.jhuccp.org/ics-wpd/popweb/
• SabreFoundation - Book Donations Program
  http://www.sabre.org/programs/books/index.php
• SCIELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online)
  http://www.scielo.org/php/index.php?lang=en
• WorldWideScience.org
  "federated searching of national and international scientific databases and portals."
  http://worldwidescience.org/
• If you are a health care professional or researcher, you can contact an International Medlars Center near you for help.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/intlmedlars.html
• The Health Sciences Library (HSL), University at Buffalo - Donations Program
  HSL accepts donations of book, journals and other library materials and provides them to institutions and agencies around the world.
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/hsl/donationprograms.html

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Document Delivery - US and International

• Find a library that provides document delivery service to your country through Loansome Doc®, a document ordering feature of PubMed. Some libraries may charge a fee for service.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/loansome_doc.html
  
  US libraries that provide document delivery to other countries
  https://docline.gov/loansome/r1_fl.cfm
• Look in your telephone book yellow pages under "Library Research & Services." The NLM does not endorse these companies or the services they provide.
• A list of document delivery suppliers is available at http://library.med.utah.edu/docsupp/
  The NLM does not endorse these companies or the services they provide.

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/getting_fulltext_articles.html

Last reviewed: 29 October 2009
Last updated: 29 October 2009
First published: 04 May 2006
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed