One of my peers (and all round info wizard), Tim McCallum, has been working on a project that aims to reveal the full text of the outcomes of publicly funded research. This is a topic close to my heart, so I have been following the development of http://openaccess.xyz with interest.
Tim wanted to address the issue that Google Scholar indexes only a percentage of Australia's full text open access research output available via institutional repositories. In order to find all of the full-text content, each institutional repository would need to be searched individually, or you would need to search Trove (the Australian National Library service). Important to note is that Trove only allows a search of bibliographic data, not the full text of the items.
This is a problem because it reduces the visibility, accessibility, and impact of Australian research, which has implications for international research grant funding and global rankings.
Openaccess.xyz indexes and allows searching of the full text of all research outputs made available online. It also allows you to se a visual representation of the use of your search words/terms over time. It solves a unique and troubling problem in a nifty way. I have used it to find 3 crucial articles that I have otherwise been unable to find for my own studies.
There is also the capacity to include literature not otherwise available through major databases such as government reports, business and industry documents, and other grey literature useful for research.
In my view there are still some small issues with the search algorithm, which may need tinkering. The ability to do phrase searching would be beneficial. I'm sure Tim would welcome your feedback, so get in touch with him @mistermac2008
