Share this page!

Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Twitter logo
Oct 5 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Is the paper you need stuck behind a paywall?

Five websites every researcher should know to access any research paper for free

@AcademicChatter
@OpenAcademics
1. @SciHubUpdated

Online library created from downloading papers through institute logins to Scihub's own server.

✅️Pros
▫️Claims to have 99% all papers

❌️Cons
▫️questionable legality
▫️blocked in some countries
▫️no papers added since 2021
2. @unpaywall

A browser extension which finds paper PDFs legally by searching various online repositories

✅️Pros
▫️Legal
▫️Extension automatically searches for paper in your browser

❌️Cons
▫️Only on Firefox and chrome desktop browsers
3. Open Access Button

Similar to Unpaywall but if it canot find a PDF, the tool offers to email the authors to ask for the paper

✅️Pros
▫️Legal
▫️More chance to find paper by asking authors

❌️Cons
▫️Need to press button everytime to search for a paper
4. @PaperPandaHQ

A Chrome extension that finds the DOI of the paper from the current webpage, then searches for it from various repositories

✅️Pros
▫️Can set search to include your institution's library

❌️Cons
▫️Not clear if all databases searched are legal
5. 12ftladder

Finds the cached, unpaywalled version of a site seen by Google search

✅️Pros
▫️No extension needed, just add 12ft.io before URL of a paywalled page

❌️Cons
▫️Mostly for news sites
▫️Has been disabled for some sites
TL;DR

How to access papers for free

1. Sci-Hub
2. Unpaywall
3. Open Access Button
4. Paper Panda
5. 12ft ladder
Enjoyed this🧵?
Please RT the first tweet.

And follow me @LNivisonSmith if you are interested in

- macular degeneration research
- #WomeninSTEM
- #scicomm
- musings from a mother trying to survive #academia

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith

Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LNivisonSmith

Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Sep 21
Grants 😞
Manuscripts 😣
Course evaluations 😫

Rejection is everywhere in academia.

But we keep it quiet.
Only stories of success get told.

So heres a story on rejection:
"The potato, the egg and tea bag"

@AcademicChatter
A young man comes to his father.

"Father, life is hard. I'm struggling all the time. Just as I solve one problem, another follows"

The father nods. "Come with me."
He takes man to the kitchen and fills 3 pots with boiling water.
In the first pot he places a potato.
In the second pot he places an egg. In the third pot he places a tea bag.

After some time, the father takes the potato, egg and tea bag out of the boiling water

“What do you see?” he asks

"A potato, egg and tea bag" the man replies annoyed
Read 8 tweets
Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Sep 14
Are you 'Excited to share my new paper!'

Harsh truth:
Most people don't care

5 tips on how to tweet about your new paper to get real engagement

@OpenAcademics @PhD_Genie @PhDVoice @AcademicChatter
Firstly, a disclaimer.

I'm not saying your new paper is bad

On the contrary, it got accepted so it brings new knowledge to your field

It deserves to be read.
This thread gives you tips to achieve that with Twitter
1. Use Numbers

Numbers attract attention because -they stand out against words
-add credibility
-make info easier to visualise

❌️ Our study shows this new method is highly efficient

✅️ Our study shows this method reduced waste by 87%
Read 9 tweets
Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Aug 31
Want advice on how to improve your academic writing?

Try listening to non-academics

5 writing threads from non-academics that are 🔥🔥🔥

@AcademicChatter @PhDVoice @PhD_Genie @PostdocVoice @ThePhDPlace #acwri
How to instantly up your writing 📝

Fav tip:
Never use a complex word when a simple one will do

How to build a killer writing habit 💪

Fav tip:
95% of writing is re-writing

Read 7 tweets
Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Aug 10
I've visited the profiles of all my 9000+ followers and learned one important thing

No one teaches academics how to write a Twitter bio

5 simple ways to improve your bio so your first impression counts 👀

🧵

@AcademicChatter @OpenAcademics
1. Don't write a CV

Many bios are lists of academic positions and acronyms

Its not a great way to get a 'feel' for who you are

Your profile should say
▫️ Who you are
▫️ What you do
▫️ How to engage with you

It should introduce you like a handshake, not a CV.
2. Tag your organisation

You're at CSU? Which one?
Colorado State Uni 🇱🇷
Central South Uni China 🇨🇳
Charles Sturt Uni Australia 🇦🇺

Most of us use our institute's acronym but few of us know all 25000+ universities worldwide. Tag your organisation so we know exactly where you are
Read 8 tweets
Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Aug 3
I've spent years trying to figure out how to be a great academic writer

It comes down to one thing

A story for every academic who wants the cheat code to better writing 🧵

@AcademicChatter @CouragePhD @hapyresearchers @ThePhDPlace @thephdstory #acwri
A photography professor walks into his new class.

He decides to do an experiment

He divides the class in two groups: quantity and quality
The quantity group are graded on how many photos they take.
For an A, they need to take the most photos.

The quality group are graded on the calibre of their photos. For an A, they only need one photo but it has to be excellent
Read 8 tweets
Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith Profile picture
Jul 27
Academia is considered structured, logical, analytical, rigid....

It's also full of paradoxes 🔄

4 paradoxes to overcome to level up your academic career 🧵

@AcademicChatter @OpenAcademics @PhD_Genie @ThePhDPlace
Saying no CREATES opportunity 🍀

Saying yes to everything maxs out your time/energy quickly. Then when a real opportunity comes, you cannot take advantage of it. Say no to some things leads to saying yes to the right thing.
Finding the answer comes from saying I don't know 🤷

As experts, it's uncomfortable to say "I don't know". But without this, no-one knows what questions still plague us. Saying "I don't know" opens the door for those with answers to find you
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Send Email!

Email the whole thread instead of just a link!

Separate emails with commas

:(