Astronomy

What is a paywall?

A paywall is a barrier to access. It is a way for publishers to restrict content to journals and articles by requiring a subscription, a fee, and/or a login. Your librarians do their best to make sure you have access to paid subscriptions for the most relevant databases and journals for your research. But sometimes, glitches happen, or we might not have a subscription to the resource you want to search. If you encounter a paywall when searching the UF Libraries electronic resources, DO NOT PANIC. 

• If you are trying to access an online resource from off-campus, make sure you have the VPN downloaded (see the sidebar to the left for instructions). TIP: resources like Open Athens and LibKey Nomad make is easier to access our resources without having to download the VPN.
• Try searching a database (visit 'Home' on this guide to see a list of databases)
  • Search by title (put the entire title in quotes)
  • Search by author name
  • Use search limiters such as year of publication and journal title to reduce the number of unusable search results
• If you still can't find it, reach out to me! There might be an unknown access issue that we can get fixed!

PRO TIP: You can install this browser plug-in that will find free versions of articles that you might find locked behind a paywall - unpaywall

**To access these databases off-campus, you will need to download the VPN or access them via OpenAthens (see the info on the left)!

Dissertations and Theses

Doctoral dissertations and Masters' theses are the terminal projects of advanced degrees, representing years of research. Undergraduate theses are written by undergraduate students in order to graduate with honors distinctions. All dissertations and theses are reviewed by a committee of faculty members before a degree is awarded.

Finding Dissertations and Theses by UF Students

• Browse UF graduate dissertations and theses in the library catalog
• Browse UF undergraduate honors theses in the UF Digital Collections
• Browse recent graduate dissertations and theses from the UF Department of Astronomy

Finding External Dissertations and Theses

• Search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Portal
• Explore other dissertation databases listed on the Smathers Libraries website
• If all else fails, contact the author directly and ask for a copy. It usually works!