This guide brings together high‑quality open access (OA) and open educational resources (OER) to support Caribbean & Jamaica Studies, General Education, and context‑setting courses at Vector Technology Institute.
How to Use This Guide
- Start here: Use the “Core Research Tools” section to find scholarly articles and open books about Jamaica, the Caribbean, and global topics.
- Use regional sections: For assignments about Jamaican society, history, economy, or culture, go to the “Jamaica & Caribbean Primary Sources and Repositories” section.
- Use data sections: For projects involving statistics or policy, use the “Data and Statistics (Jamaica & Region)” section.
- Add media and context: Use the “Media and Primary Sources” section for images, video, and documents that make your work more vivid and locally relevant.
1. Start Here: Core Research Tools
Begin with these tools for most essays, presentations, and projects that need scholarly sources or high‑quality background reading.
Find scholarly articles (general & regional)
- Google Scholar – Scholarly search across articles, theses, books, and reports; good first stop for most topics.
- BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) – Academic search engine indexing repositories and publishers worldwide; useful for open full‑text social science and humanities research.
- CORE – Aggregates open access research papers from repositories and journals; good for education, sociology, and development topics.
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Curated index of peer‑reviewed OA journals across disciplines; use subject filters for education, social sciences, and area studies.
- SAGE Open – Peer‑reviewed OA journal in the social sciences; useful for studies on education, society, and policy.
- Paperity – OA journal aggregator; can be used to find additional social sciences and humanities articles (evaluate titles carefully).
Find books and general reading
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) – Peer‑reviewed academic books; good for global topics in history, culture, education, and development.
- OAPEN – Open books in humanities and social sciences; useful for theory and context in Caribbean‑related topics.
- Open Research Library – Platform for OA scholarly ebooks; search for topics in education, culture, and development.
- Open Textbook Library – Reviewed open textbooks for general education subjects (writing, communication, critical thinking, etc.).
- OpenStax – Peer‑reviewed open textbooks in introductory subjects (math, science, social science) useful for general education support.
- National Academies Press – Free PDFs on science, education, and policy, helpful for general education topics on technology and society.
2. Jamaica & Caribbean Primary Sources and Repositories
Use these when you need original documents, regional scholarship, or sources focused on Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
- Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) – Caribbean cultural, historical, and research materials; includes newspapers, government documents, photos, and teaching resources.
- National Library of Jamaica Digital Collections – Digitized photographs, pamphlets, manuscripts, maps, and other Jamaican primary sources.
- UWI Mona DSpace (Institutional Repository) – Research output from UWI Mona, including theses, articles, and reports with Jamaican focus.
- UWISpace (UWI Institutional Repository) – Scholarship from the University of the West Indies across campuses; strong regional relevance.
- PIOJ Library Open Online – Access to selected publications and e‑resources from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (access model may vary).
- Virtual Trade Policy Portal – Open data and documents related to Caribbean trade policy, useful for regional economic and policy assignments.
Tip: Combine dLOC or NLJ primary sources with statistics from STATIN or PIOJ to create rich, locally grounded assignments.
3. Data and Statistics (Jamaica & Region)
Use these for assignments requiring real data, policy context, or social and economic indicators for Jamaica and the Caribbean.
- STATIN Jamaica – Publications – Official statistics and reports; ideal for demographic, social, and economic data.
- Bank of Jamaica – Research Papers & Publications – Economic and financial research, reports, and bulletins.
- Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) – Publications – ESSJ, JSLC, and policy reports for socio‑economic context and development planning.
- Government of Jamaica Open Data Portal – Open datasets from various ministries and agencies; good for data analysis projects.
- Inter‑American Development Bank (IDB) Publications – Regional reports on development, social policy, and infrastructure in the Caribbean.
- World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) – Country and regional reports, data‑rich studies, and policy documents.
4. Theses, Dissertations and Education Research
Use these sources when you need in‑depth research, literature reviews, or studies on education, society, and development.
- Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) – Global index of OA theses and dissertations; includes work on Caribbean issues, education, and development.
- Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) – International thesis/dissertation search for education, policy, and social sciences.
- DART‑Europe E‑theses Portal – European e‑theses in humanities and social sciences, including topics relevant to education and culture.
- UWI Mona DSpace & UWISpace – Caribbean theses and research across many disciplines; important for regional perspectives.
- ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) – Education research database; filter to peer‑reviewed, full text for studies on higher education, OER, and Caribbean/Global South contexts.
Tip: Use theses and ERIC articles to find research designs, instruments, and literature reviews to support your own projects.
5. OER Courses and General Education Support
Use these to build skills in writing, critical thinking, digital literacy, and general education subjects.
- OpenLearn (The Open University) – Free short courses on study skills, digital literacy, globalization, and social issues.
- Saylor Academy – Self‑paced courses in writing, communication, business, and other general education areas.
- MERLOT – Teaching and learning materials for general education (communications, humanities, social sciences); includes peer‑reviewed learning objects.
- OER Commons – Modules, lessons, and open textbooks; search for writing, critical thinking, and introductory social science content.
- BCcampus Open Textbooks – General education and communications titles that support first‑year courses.
Suggested use: Use these resources to strengthen academic skills, support bridging/foundation courses, or provide optional enrichment activities.
6. Media, Images and Primary Source Media
Use these for visual and audio content in presentations, digital stories, and projects about Jamaica, the Caribbean, and global issues.
- Openverse – Search engine for Creative Commons‑licensed images and audio; check licenses and attribution requirements.
- Wikimedia Commons – Free‑use images and media; useful for maps, flags, historical photos, and conceptual illustrations.
- Pexels / Pixabay – Free stock photos and videos; helpful for presentations and project visuals.
- National Library of Jamaica Digital Collections – Jamaican photographs, pamphlets, and manuscripts for local visual context.
- Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) – Images, newspapers, and other media from across the Caribbean; excellent for regional projects.
- TED – Talks on education, society, and technology; good for discussion prompts (not research sources).
- YouTube – Use curated academic and documentary channels or instructor‑approved playlists.
Licensing note: Always check the stated license and follow attribution requirements where applicable, especially when publishing work online.