Free sources for literature?

[TheBupKing]

Looking for publications on GC(/MS) on the general theories and concepts and more specifically for the analysis of drug analytes, but am limited to abstracts right now because I can't find good free articles. Hmm, is it time to bite the bullet and become a member of ACS?

[Don_Hilton]

BEcoming a member of ACS will get you an issue of Chemical and Engineering News coming in the mail, but I don't think that is what you want for following the developments in drug analysis. For that it would seem that a subscritpion to a journal - and a look at the abstracts you are collecting would give would give you an idea of where articles of interest to you are being published. However, before spending lots of money on a journal, check to see what local universities have in their libraries. Perhaps a short drive will give you access to more than you could purchase for yourself.

[mbicking]

I hate to get off the topic here, but this is one of those topics that needs to be discussed more.

I'm sure you don't work for free, nor do your supervisors and managers. You need some technical information that you cannot generate on your own, yet you want to get it for free from some technical expert. This expert has lots of training, and perhaps an advanced degree, so unless they choose to post something for free on the internet, you should feel obligated to pay some amount for the information.

Having said that, like you, I always will do a quick search on the internet for something (free and) close to what I need. The manufacturers often have conditions that will get you started (if you buy their column!), and sometimes there are other public reports. But when those avenues are exhausted, then it's time to actually pay for the information. Most journals will sell you an article for about $30 - $40. This is a small price to pay for the amount of information that you will get. In fact, it is probably less than one hour of your time, which is what you would spend doing Google searches.

So, please help those of us who do method development for a living. We have families to feed and student loans to pay off too. Because if nobody wants to pay for it, soon there won't be anyone doing it.

[Peter Apps]

Hi Merlin

I don't see how the pay per view fees for journals support method development, since all of the money goes to the journal, not to the researcher who wrote the paper.

Peter

[mbicking]

Peter:
Yes, I would agree that the system isn't perfect, but at least the author gets some "publicity" out of it, which can lead to something more. That is one of the reasons you publish. The larger issue is that too many people seem to think that freely available on the internet always means "free."

[chemwipe]

So, please help those of us who do method development for a living. We have families to feed and student loans to pay off too. Because if nobody wants to pay for it, soon there won't be anyone doing it.

This can apply to so many other job areas, too! This subject needs its own thread, especially this:

Because if nobody wants to pay for it, soon there won't be anyone doing it.

John

[Peter Apps]

This is a can of very wriggly worms, many of which are armed with sharp teeth.

There has always been an uneasy relationship between public and donor funded research (often at Universities in tandem with teaching) with the lofty goal of increasing understanding and bettering the human condition, and private corporate research with the more down to earth aim of making money. Add to this issues of author's copyright and publishers' investments in any kind of publication, whether fact or fiction, scientific or lay, and then add patents and other forms of formal intellectual property management, season with a dash of plain ethics and then stir it with the accessibility and cut and paste of the internet and you have everything from students who just cut and paste their assigments, to CDs that are unauthorised word for word copies of printed books, and pay per view and open access fees that are beyond the budgets of many academic researchers.

Peter