Hello,
was forced to put my PhD studies/activities on hold due to an extended period of illness. It has been a long battle. However I am receiving treatment and am starting to recover. The University were very understanding and placed my funding etc on hold. Recently my Doctor has advised me that I can start some light academic reading. Have been trying to read around a few topics but I keep hitting 'paywalls'. Since I am not currently registered at the University I don't have access to the library and online journals. Some times I can find an illicit pdf posted on a torrent site or the like. Is there a way for a lapsed students to keep abreast of the material? Not having an income I can't possibly pay for access paper by paper. Hasn't the government funded most of this research? Why should I pay for access? I have had limited success by searching Citeseer, visting the Authors home page or hoping Google Books allows access to the pages I require. Thought about just posting a list of the papers I would like to read on a message board and rely on the kindness of current students with unfettered access to email them to me. Is this dishonest/illegal? I suppose I am wondering is there a piratebay equivalent for scientific papers that 'all the kids' are using. I would feel guilty using it though.
This time away from University has brought home to me just how important 'my' PhD is to me. It's completion is an entity that exists in isolation from my University and Supervisors(although impossible without their help and support). It is 'my' PhD! Which has already placed me on a unique and individual voyage of discovery. University, Degrees, Conferences, Professional Bodies and career prospects aside. The genie's bottle has been opened I want to keep reading and researching topics that i find interesting. How can I do this while away from University? Shouldn't the government have a scheme for unemployed post docs or scientific professionals? Providing them with access to journals and other resources. Wouldn't it improve their chances of getting re-employed?
Any suggestions gratefully received. My apologies if is this is a stupid question or if I have missed something obvious. Whilst determined I am far from the sharpest tool in the box.

Regards
Rod

Yes governments fund a lot of research but that doesnt entitle them to the copyright of any papers published from that research as far as I am aware.

Ive never really understood why journal articles are so expensive. In the sciences it appears that each individual article will cost about 20-30 pounds and university subscriptions to journals must cost thousands a year. It really boils down to the fact that academic publishers are private companies and want to make a nice big fat profit. They arnt interested in giving journal articles for free any more than book shops will give their books for free and I dont blame them. Every business has costs to cover and needs to make a proft. I just wonder if the prices individuals and universities have to pay are justified and im not really qualified to say so.

You will probably get little return by asking randomers on the net to help get you papers for but there is no harm in trying I suppose ( ill have to admit though it does sound a little bit desperate though ). Your best bet is to have a chat with your supervisor at your uni. They should be able to get papers for you or get you access to the appropriate journals but officially speaking you wont get access to journals until you are registered as a student as technically speaking you are not a member of the university at the moment. They pay a lot of money for the privlages to access journals and databases so will almost always give access exclusively to current memebers of the uni.

I suspect the university will only give you access to journals when you are well enough and willing to resume your PhD studies and register as a student. Best of luck with it though

I was going to suggest that you contact your supervisor as well. It's very unlikely that they will be able to persuade the library authorities to give you full access without being a registered student, but they may be able to get copies of specific things for you, and could lend you books etc.

I'm long-term ill (since 1994) with a progressive neurological disease. It's been a problem throughout my part-time PhD but I only took 1 official medical break (largely because my funding council won't support much in the way of breaks, even for medical needs). I didn't do any studying during that period, and just picked things up when I was fully registered again and obviously had access to papers etc. My biggest challenge was getting into the way of working again. I drew up lots of to-do lists of tasks to be getting on with and picked off the most appealing. That way I picked things up again slowly, and built up my stamina for the PhD work again. Because of the illness I also have periods of many months where I can't do any work at all. Again I use the list technique to get me started again.

Good luck with your PhD.