alternatives to proquest or factiva

[stabb]

Hi there MJ, Alex & People

When I was studying, I had access to article databases such as factiva and proquest.
Recently Ive been looking for less-expensive alternatives to scholary research.

Can anyone subscribe such similar services?

Thanks and regards
James

[John]

James
I would suggest using Google Scholar, because perhaps as many as 20% of the articles that come up have a free copy online, in addition to their journal version (which may itself be open access). There is no easy way to tell (a URL ending in .pdf is a good sign, as is .edu), and if you really need the article, you can pay, as with ingenta.
At the Public Knowledge Project, we are doing what we can to help journals increase the percentage of freely available research and scholarship.
Thanks
John

[stabb]

Thanks there John.

It seems I may have hit the crux of exactly what the PKP is about. When I was at varsity, we had accounts with factiva as part of our enrolment. I only recently decided to sign back up with factiva to do some research but I had no idea of the expenses involved.
I'll have to pay a yearly fee plus 2.95 per article. I never realized information was soo expensive.

Ah, I guess scholary institutions have to make money somehow aye?

[mj]

James,

Yes, the information providers can be extremely expensive -- you wouldn't believe the annual subscription prices that are charged for academic libraries, as compared to individual prices. The larger meta-databases such as DIALOG And OVID can go so far as to charge by-the-minute as well.

Another area you may wish to investigate is your local municipal library system. In Toronto, at least, and I suspect similarly in many other large cities, the Toronto Public Library provides free access to a number of high-priced databases (including Factiva and ProQuest, I believe) for anyone with a library card.