Where to track the academic sources that google won’t show
Can you imagine life without the Internet? It would be tough, for sure, especially if you were a student. Then, writing a BA, MA or PhD thesis would mean spending numerous hours on research in public libraries, and buying dozens of encyclopedias as well as scientific magazines. That would not only be costly and time-consuming, but also extremely exhausting.
Fortunately, nowadays, the situation is different. In order to finish your paper, you don’t have to search for information in huge encyclopedias, spend an enormous amount of time in public libraries or buy dozens of scientific magazines With the development of technology, you can now find and access all necessary academic sources online. It’s quick, easy and you can do it at home.
Right. But, that’s just the theory. In practice, not everything is as easy as it seems.
Google Doesn’t Really Know Everything
Let’s be honest, tracking academic sources isn’t easy. Sometimes, when you look for an article online, Google either doesn’t recognize your keywords or shows you thousands of results. Thus, finding the target work can be an impossible task.
Another issue with Google is that, often, when you type in the author or the title of the target article, the top ten websites that pop up are online databases such as digital libraries like, for example, jstor.org or sciencedirect.com. To be honest, it’s hard to blame Google for such results. After all, on those databases you can find the articles you desire to read. However, finding them doesn’t mean being able to access them. In most cases, in order to read an article on such sites, you need to pay a fee.
Now, it’s not a problem to pay a fee if you need to read one or two articles. For most people, it’s affordable. However, when you’re doing research for your thesis and need to gain access to dozens of such works, then, the situation’s different. Being just a student, you can’t afford to pay so much.
Thus, you search further on Google, hoping you’ll find other sites where you’d be able to access, read and download works that interest you, for free. And what does Google do? It fails to provide you with such sites.
The good news is that you can find and access the articles you need to read online and for free. However, you need to know where to search for them.
Straying From The Path Isn’t Always Dangerous
The most beautiful flowers seldom grow next to the main road. So, if you want to make a bouquet, you pick flowers away from public roads. By the same token, you won’t always find the articles you seek on Google. Sometimes, you need to search somewhere else.
Here are the top three websites where you can track academic sources, gain access to thousands of articles and download them for free:
- Library Genesis
Library Genesis is a digital library where you can find articles on a variety of topics, for example, technology, science or linguistics. You can also find there other works, such as comics, fiction or magazines. In order to check the website, click here or here.
Now, here’s how you can download a file from Library Genesis:
- Type in a keyword, narrow down the search and click Enter.
- Choose the right work,
- Click io and then GET.
That’s it! Your computer is already downloading the file. Easy, isn’t it?
- Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub is another website where you can find, read and download academic sources. The only difference is that in order to find an article on Sci-Hub, you need to type in either a URL of the target article or a DOI number. Let me explain you how to do that.
First, go to an online database, such as sciencedirect.com and find an article you’d like to read. For example, let’s say you’d like to read an article about the art and science of bibliotherapy. You can check it here. Next, copy the URL of the article, paste it into Sci-Hub and click Enter. As you can see, now you are able not only to read the article online for free, but also, you can download it on your computer.
- KickAssTorrents
The third top website where you can find academic sources is KickAssTorrents. Now, as the name itself suggests, on that website you can download files via torrents. In order to be able to do that, you need to instal uTorrent on your computer. Then, you can start downloading articles.
Here’s a small remark: KickAssTorrents is not a website devoted exclusively to academic sources. Thus, you can download there virtually anything you need, such as books, movies or computer games. Consequently, the chances of finding there an article you seek are smaller than on the previously discussed sites. However, it’s always worth to try.
Wrapping It Up
Google is a wonderful search engine that can help you find academic sources. However, it often fails to help you find websites on which you can read or download them for free. The top three websites that can help you with that are: Library Genesis, Sci-Hub and KickAssTorrents. Use them to your advantage!
If you found this post helpful, share it with your friends! If you know of any other websites where you can track academic sources, tell us about them in the comments below!