People often struggle to find the full-text of scientific papers. Here is a step-by-step guide to finding full PDFs of these articles. Be sure to follow all rules, laws, and regulations in your jurisdiction, and be sure you are aware of potential risks before using any of these methods.
Method 1: Search the title at http://scholar.google.com. If a pdf or full-text is available, it will show up as a link on the right-hand side of the search result. This works to find full text for the majority of modern papers. Sometimes, there’s an option displayed below the search result to see “All X versions” of a paper, so if the first version doesn’t have a pdf showing, it’s worth checking the other versions.
If it doesn’t work, then try…
Method 2: Create/log in to a free http://researchgate.net account, and search for the title. Sometimes the full text will already be there. If not, click the “Request full-text” button to request it from the author (and write them a nice note).
Unfortunately, ResearchGate may require an institutional email address or proof of having published prior research/being connected to scientific research (or, at least, a business email address at a company that conducts research) in order to create an account. Another option is to search Academia.edu, which sometimes has papers that ResearchGate doesn’t have (but the reverse is also true). Be warned, though, that these websites might end up sending you unwanted emails (although you should be able to unsubscribe from them).
If that doesn’t work, then try…
Method 3: Go to the r/scholar subreddit and request the paper. Make sure to follow the Posting Guidelines.
Be sure to click the “Flair” button when posting to mark it as “Requesting.” And your post should start with one of these: [Article], [Book], [Chapter], [Supplement], [Thesis], [Standard], [Other], or [Meta]. For instance:
[Article] Meatless muscle growth: building muscle size and strength on a mycoprotein-rich vegan diet
Similarly, some people use mutual scientific paper aide websites like wosonhj/smartquantai where people request copies of papers for personal use.
If that doesn’t work, then try…
Method 4: Email one of the paper’s authors directly asking for a full-text copy (academics often have a personal website that provides their contact info, and the abstracts often contain at least one contact email address as well).
Other Approaches Some People Use That Are Controversial
If all of the above fails, there are paper download sites that many people use, but those approaches are controversial, and the ethics of using those sites are debated. They include:
• Libgen
• Sci-Hub (which some people say stopped being updated as of 2020)
The latest trend (as of 2024) is the Nexus Search bot (@science_nexus_search) on Telegram. Telegram is regular messaging software (available as a phone app, web app, and desktop software), which some people use to find papers. Again, this approach is highly controversial and the ethics of using it is debated.
Make sure to follow the laws and regulations of your jurisdiction. Be careful not to use a service that may be unsafe (especially if you don’t understand the risks) or that may cause you to break the law inadvertently. The use of some of the methods mentioned in this article may pose a risk, so be cautious.
This piece was first written on December 21, 2022, and first appeared on this site on July 18, 2023. It was updated Oct 13, 2024.
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