Library Guide: Dentistry: Open Access Resources

What are Open Access Resources?

Open Access refers to resources that are freely available for viewing and/or use. Open Access is not the same as Public Domain, and most Open Access creators do retain their copyrights.
Open Access is part of a continuum ranging from completely closed, subscription/purchase only access to completely open, no barrier publishing. Open Access is not related to the quality of materials or the peer-review/non-peer-review status of the publications.
Open Access differs from Open Source or Open Licensed in that the primary use of Open Access materials will be viewing or reading, while Open Source materials are available for modification of the underlying software or text. For instance, Linux is an open source operating system, while the The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education is an open access journal. An increasing number of Educational Resources are being published with Open Licenses, allowing for modification, re-editing, and other customization.

What is Open Access?

List of Open Access Resources in Medicine

Open Access materials can be excellent resources to supplement online library materials. Many scholarly and peer-review journals have opened their back issues as open access, and others have converted partially or totally to open access for all issues. The following are listing of open access resources that could assist in your research :

Bioline International Bioline International is a not-for-profit scholarly publishing cooperative committed to providing open access to quality research journals published in developing countries. BI's goal of reducing the South to North knowledge gap is crucial to a global understanding of health (tropical medicine, infectious diseases, epidemiology, emerging new diseases), biodiversity, the environment, conservation and international development.
ClinicalTrials.gov ClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions. The Web site is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Information on ClinicalTrials.gov is provided and updated by the sponsor or principal investigator of the clinical study.
GLOBinMED GlobinMed was set up in sync with the significant increase of the role of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T/CM) in contributing to the maintenance of human health over the years. It was a conclusion from the 12th Meeting of Commonwealth Health Ministers who suggested that scattered information on T/CM from Commonwealth countries should be gathered, evaluated and centralized for easy access.
Journals for Free Journals for Free is a directory of open access journals and journals with some kind of open access to their materials.
MedlinePlus Originated in 1998; National Library of Medicine's selective list of authoritative health information sources from the National Institutes of Health and other government and professional organizations in the U.S. Updated nightly, it has over 4,000 articles on various diseases, symptoms, drugs and procedures, as well as interactive health tutorials, research news, local resources, directories of hospitals and physicians, clinical trials and links to MEDLINE for journal citations.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic analogues to the traditional paper-based theses and dissertations.
Open Access Library Open Access Library search engine features free access to 258K+ academic articles. And this number is estimated to increase in the near future. Our mission is to provide free research articles to scholars around the world.
PubMed PubMed comprises more than 23 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Malaysian Medical Resources

The International Medical Journal of Malaysia The International Medical Journal Malaysia is the official journal of the Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia. It serves primarily as a forum for education and intellectual discourse for health professionals namely in clinical medicine but covers diverse issues relating to medical ethics, professionalism as well as medical developments and research in basic medical sciences.
Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism is a clinical forum for the exchange and dissemination of ideas, findings and techniques relevant to endocrinology and metabolic disorders. The aim of this journal is to provide a platform for researches, clinicians and academicians all over the world to promote, share innovative or novel research achievements and personal/center experiences to stimulate scholarly debate in the development of endocrinology and metabolism.
The Malaysian Journal of Microbiology The Malaysian Journal of Microbiology (MJM) is published under the auspices of the Malaysian Society for Microbiology. It serves as a forum for scientific communication among scientists and academics who deal with microbes and microbial products. The journal publishes research articles, short communications and review articles on various novel aspects of microbiology.
Medical Journal of Malaysia It is a scientific journal, published quarterly and can be found in medical libraries in many parts of the world. The Journal also enjoys the status of being listed in the Index Medicus, the internationally accepted reference index of medical journals. The editorial columns often reflect the Association's views and attitudes towards medical problems in the country.
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine (MJPHM) is the official Journal of Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association. This is peer-reviewed Journal was founded in 2001 with the main objective of providing a platform for publication of scientific articles in the areas of public health medicine. The Journal is published in two volumes per year. Contributors are welcome to send their articles in all sub-discipline of public health including epidemiology, biostatistics, nutrition, family health, infectious diseases, health services research, gerontology, child health, adolescent health, behavioral medicine, rural health, chronic diseases, health promotion, public health policy and management, health economics, occupational health and environmental health.