This guide brings together high‑quality open access (OA) and open educational resources (OER) to support research skills (finding, evaluating, and using information) across all programmes at Vector Technology Institute.
How to Use This Guide
- Start here: Use the “Core Discovery Tools” section to find scholarly articles, books, and theses for any subject area.
- Use theses/dissertations: When you need detailed examples of research methods or literature reviews, use the “Theses and Dissertations” section.
- Use data sources: For projects involving statistics or real‑world evidence, see the “Data and Statistics” section (especially for Jamaica and the Caribbean).
- Build skills: Use the “Learning Resources for Research Skills” section to strengthen searching, evaluating sources, and citing correctly.
1. Core Discovery Tools (All Subjects)
Use these tools to discover scholarly articles, books, and reports for any course or topic.
Find scholarly articles and reports
- Google Scholar – Scholarly literature search across disciplines; includes articles, theses, books, and conference papers.
- BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) – Academic search engine indexing institutional repositories and OA journals worldwide.
- CORE – Aggregates open access research papers from repositories and journals; good for full‑text access.
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Curated index of peer‑reviewed OA journals; use subject filters to refine by discipline.
- Digital Commons Network – Aggregated scholarship from university repositories; useful for many subjects.
- Paperity – OA journal aggregator across disciplines (evaluate journals and articles for quality).
- OpenAlex – Open index of scholarly works with links to OA full text where available (metadata‑focused).
Find books and ebooks
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) – Peer‑reviewed academic books in many disciplines.
- Open Textbook Library – Reviewed open textbooks across subjects; ideal for course readings.
- OpenStax – Peer‑reviewed open textbooks in core subjects (math, science, business, etc.).
- OAPEN – Open access monographs and edited volumes, especially in humanities and social sciences.
- Open Research Library – Discovery platform for scholarly OA ebooks from multiple publishers.
2. Theses, Dissertations and In‑Depth Research
Use these when you need detailed research, literature reviews, and methodology examples for your projects or final papers.
- Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) – Global index of OA theses and dissertations, across disciplines.
- Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) – International thesis/dissertation search for many subjects.
- DART‑Europe E‑theses Portal – European e‑theses in all disciplines, useful for comparative studies.
- EBSCO Open Dissertations – Discoverable ETDs from multiple institutions.
- UWISpace & UWI Mona DSpace – Theses and research from UWI, with strong Caribbean relevance.
Tip: Look at the introductions and literature review chapters of theses to see how researchers structure background and justify their topics.
3. Data and Statistics
Use these sources when you need quantitative evidence, indicators, or official statistics for your assignments.
- STATIN Jamaica – Publications – Official statistics and reports for Jamaica.
- Government of Jamaica Open Data Portal – Open datasets from Jamaican ministries and agencies.
- Bank of Jamaica – Research Papers & Publications – Economic and financial research.
- Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) – Publications – Socio‑economic surveys and policy reports (ESSJ, JSLC, etc.).
- World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) – Global and country‑level data‑rich reports.
- Inter‑American Development Bank (IDB) Publications – Data and analysis for Latin America and the Caribbean.
4. Learning Resources for Research Skills
Use these to improve how you search, evaluate, and cite sources, and how you structure academic work.
- ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) – Research on teaching, learning, and information literacy; useful for understanding good academic practice.
- OpenLearn – Study Skills & Research – Short courses on critical thinking, academic writing, and research skills.
- Saylor Academy – Courses that include units on research, writing, and information evaluation (for example, in English composition and business communication).
- MERLOT – Learning objects and tutorials on information literacy and academic writing (search “information literacy” or “research skills”).
Suggested use: Pick one short course or tutorial early in the semester to boost your search and evaluation skills before major assignments are due.
5. Media, Images and Citing Visual Sources
Use these for images and media in presentations and projects, and remember they must also be cited properly.
- Openverse – CC‑licensed images and audio; good for slides and multimedia projects.
- Wikimedia Commons – Free‑use media for diagrams, photos, and maps.
- Pexels / Pixabay – Free stock photos and videos (check the license provided).
Licensing note: When you use an image or media file, note the source and license so you can include a proper attribution in your references or on your slide.