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As if we didn't have enough academic journals available through Athens, there is also a large (and growing) number of 'open access' journals available on the Web. Basically, an open access journal is one which - as the name suggests - is freely available to anyone. As the internet has made it much easier to publish and disseminate information to a wide audience, these sorts of journals are likely to grow in popularity in the future.

It's difficult to know exactly how many of these titles exist as they are scattered all over the Web. However, a website entitled the Directory of Open Access Journals aims to help users find relevant articles by listing thousands of titles under subject headings. Students looking for education-related journals can also take a look at Open Access Journals in the Field of Education, a list which as been compiled by the American Educational Research Association. Admittedly it can be quite daunting looking at the number of titles which are available, so if you only take a look at one of the journals on offer then I would suggest that you visit the homepage of Early Childhood Research & Practice, which contains a number of articles that I have found useful when answering student enquiries.