9 ways to find FREE scholarly sources in 2023
How to find scholarly sources for FREE
You read your school assignment and saw the requirement for scholarly sources. But have no idea where to start.
As a professor, I have heard from students that they bought articles, some for $35.00 each, to get sources for their assignments.
The students just didn’t know where to find these sources, and when they searched online, and these options were in their search results. They thought that it was the only way to get access to those sources.
Never pay for scholarly sources, EVER.
I am going to explain how to find scholarly resources for free. And explain what scholarly resources even are. I will also tell you what I expect from my own college students as a professor.
Keep in mind that these rules typically apply to high school students too.
Define what scholarly sources your professor will accept
Okay, this is where things can get a bit complicated. I am going to cover a few different categories of sources and explain if they are scholarly and how to locate them.
You will want to consider your professor’s requirements for scholarly sources as I have seen some accept textbooks, while others won’t.
Some only allow sources from peer-reviewed journals, but others have a wider variety of sources that are allowed.
So, make sure you understand what your professor defines as scholarly.
For my classes, I really prefer peer-reviewed journals instead of textbooks.
But let’s delve into the different types of sources.
And remember, your professor should explain which sources they will accept as scholarly sources.
You don’t want to use the wrong source so ask them before venturing off into the unknown looking for sources.
What are scholarly sources?
Peer-reviewed journals
These are the best scholarly sources. When I think of scholarly, I immediately think of a peer-reviewed journal.
There are thousands of journals that publish scholarly material on a regular basis.
These journals accept manuscripts from authors. The journal’s editor then assigns the paper to subject matter experts to review it. Usually, it’s a few reviewers that render a decision, but the number of reviewers depends on the journal.
I’ve seen as few as two reviewers, and as many as five. It just depend on the journal.
Then the experts review the paper, and decide to accept it for publication, accept it with revisions or deny it.
The reason it’s scholarly is because the paper is going through a blind review process, which a rigorous process, to determine if the paper is good enough, valid enough, and reliable enough to get published.
So, not just anyone can get their work published in these journals.
Unlike a website that can publish any material, these journals have a process to vet the material first.
You can see why these would be the gold standard in academia.
This is where I would go first to find sources before I started reading books, encyclopedias, or even textbooks. Sometimes those sources are just fine for secondary sources and general information, but I wouldn’t always define them as scholarly.
Resources like textbooks, encyclopedias and books usually had their authors rely on information from other scholarly sources. It is better to go directly to the source instead of finding someone else’s summary of the sources you want to find.
I have been a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals before and I find the process to be objective and rigorous.
These are usually very trusted resources and my go to for students.
Books
Okay, these may be scholarly, depending on the book. Some scholars write books, and you can easily get access to these books by visiting a public library or your college/school library.
Now, if they are scholarly, that is a question to be pondered.
First, you should look at the author’s qualifications.
Are they an expert in their field?
What are their qualifications?
Do they have other written work?
Are they respected in their field?
Then you should look at the publisher. This is important because there are lots of publishers in existence, and some don’t do a lot of vetting or editing before publication. It isn’t the most difficult thing to publish a book today, so see who the publisher is first.
Are they reputable?
Are they a trusted source in the industry?
You should focus on finding books with publishers from university presses or scholarly associations.
Another way to tell if a book is scholarly are the uses of relevant resources. See if they have a bibliography where they cited other scholarly sources. This is a pretty good indication that it’s scholarly.
Textbooks
Okay, this would likely be the first place you would want to go. You think because colleges and schools assign textbooks, that they are scholarly.
I have mixed feelings about textbooks.
While they have people who edited them, a publisher who vetted the author(s), and your professor or teacher who selected the textbook, I still think peer-reviewed journals are superior.
Let me explain.
A textbook covers a lot of information. It’s broad. The authors likely cited other sources in their textbook. And it’s not best practices to cite sources within another source.
It is best to go directly to the source, find that information, review it yourself, and then cite it.
This is because you can’t be sure that the secondary authors summarized it properly. It’s always best to rely on your own summary of a source after directly reviewing it yourself.
Therefore textbooks, while very helpful, wouldn’t be considered scholarly for my students.
If your professor allows these sources, then use them. They will be easy to access.
But go beyond your textbook and look at scholarly sources in peer-reviewed journals. You’ll impress your professor.
Pro Tip : If you don’t have access to the textbook because you didn’t purchase it, you can check your college’s library to see if they have a copy for use. And if they don’t, ask your professor if they can put a copy in the library for students to check out.
Websites
This is a huge gray area.
If you go online, search a topic, and start citing random websites, this is a problem. A big problem.
No one is vetting the worldwide web.
With some exceptions.
But many websites are not being reviewed by any experts and may not be written by scholars.
Anyone can buy a domain and publish information so be weary of any online sources unless they meet some of my criteria I’ve outlined below.
Where to locate scholarly sources?
1.) Your college’s or institution’s online library.
Many institutions of higher education subscribe to these journals and databases.
Some even have free books online too. You’ll have to inquire about their services and find out how to get access.
Visit with a reference librarian at your institution and learn how to access these resources.
Journal Subscriptions
Never ever pay for a journal subscription or access to an article.
Instead, find out if your college or institution has subscriptions to these coveted journals. Most institutions of higher education will have subscriptions to journals and their databases.
PRO TIP : Make sure you only search those articles that you have full access to. Otherwise, you’ll waste your time sifting through articles that you cannot read entirely. And I do not recommend citing an article based on the abstract only.
Source : Screenshot from Sage Journals (publicly available)
Now, if you do find an article that you don’t have access to, and would like, you may be able to ask your institution to request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) agreements.
This may take some time to request and obtain, so if you need something in a hurry, this is not recommended.
But with technology, some of this can all be done online and can be accessed fairly quick. Ask your institution about these services, and the turnaround time.
2.) Google Scholar
Source : Screenshot from Google Scholar (publicly available)
This is an excellent resource to find scholarly sources that range from articles in journals to books. Keep in mind that some might not be considered scholarly by your professor or teacher. But can be a great way to start your research.
Use my tips above to make sure any sources you locate fit the scholarly definition.
You might find searching and finding sources easier on Google Scholar compared to some of the journal databases. It may be more user-friendly.
One thing you can do with this search is use it to find a resource, then look that author’s citations to locate more. It’s a great starting place.
PRO TIP : Google Scholar specifically states that while an abstract may be available, the full text may not be without a subscription. This is when you could search your college’s online library to see if the full text is available. Or you can look at some of the other resources I have listed below.
Source : Screenshot DOAJ website (publicly available)
There are over 17,000 peer-reviewed open access journals available online here. Definitely check out this resource to see if you can locate some scholarly sources here.
They appear to keep adding content routinely so it will only become a larger database as time goes on.
4.) Elsevier
They have an array of open access materials, which includes journals. You can sort your searches by result type. You can specifically select journals or books to make sure you find scholarly sources.
Source : Screenshot Elsevier website (publicly available)
5.) EBSCO
They have some free open access articles, or you can connect through your institution’s account to see if they have subscriptions to access the content. But I did some searches in my discipline and there were plenty of free sources available from peer-reviewed journals without an institutional login.
The have ebooks and journal articles available. But they also include magazines, reviews, and news publications.
Source : Screenshot from EBSCO website (publicly available)
6.) Unpaywall.com
Source : Screenshot from unpaywall website (publicly available)
This is an open database, like many others already discussed, that can search for articles within their collection. They actually have a browser extension that you can use to help you find resources more easily.
7.) Government data
Some government publications could be scholarly. For example, if you were on the United States Supreme Court website looking at recent supreme court decisions, you would consider this scholarly. It just happens to be on a website.
Within your discipline, you can likely find some government publication in your area. These may be considered scholarly, depending on your professor. Just ask them.
I usually allow all sorts of government data for my students but that’s because it’s a significant dataset for my discipline.
Some data like crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, or the United States Census Bureau are reputable. And depending on your paper’s topic, could be scholarly. They have a lot of surveys that could be utilized for your paper.
Source : Screenshot from United States Census Bureau (publicly available)
8.) Public Library
Go to your local public library and see their variety of books, if your teacher allows these options for scholarly sources.
Just make sure you follow my guidelines to ensure the source would be considered scholarly.
Oftentimes, larger public libraries will have ebooks available including academic collections.
PRO TIP : Even some libraries offer access to some journal databases, but this will vary depending on your library and its size. I have noticed that libraries that offer these services don’t usually have access to the most recent issues, but it can still be relevant.
Definitely don’t skip this resource, if available.
9.) Education Resources Information Center
While some of these results from your search may result in you getting redirected to the journal’s website to get access by paying, you can opt to search for only full-text publications available on their website instead.
This saves you time from sifting through hundreds of results only to find out that the resource can only be accessed through a paid subscription.
Source: Screenshot from ERIC website (publicly available)
BONUS TIP : ALERT
Some journals have open access too.
Source : Screenshot from Sage Journals website (publicly available)
If you follow these guidelines, you’re sure to find plenty of scholarly resources at your fingertips.
Make sure you understand what sources your professor or teacher accepts as scholarly because you don’t want to limit yourself to journals if you don’t have to.
Good luck and you got this.
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