SocArXiv (osf.io/preprints/socarxiv) is a free, open preprint server for the social sciences, hosted by the Center for Open Science on the Open Science Framework (OSF). It covers sociology, political science, economics, education, communications, law, geography, anthropology, history, and related disciplines. All preprints are freely available without subscription. It's the social science equivalent of bioRxiv (biology) or PsyArXiv (psychology).

How is SocArXiv different from SSRN?

Both SocArXiv and SSRN host preprints and working papers in the social sciences, but they differ in ownership, governance, and disciplinary focus. SSRN (owned by Elsevier) is strong in economics, finance, and law. SocArXiv (operated by the non-profit Center for Open Science) is stronger in sociology, political science, and education. SocArXiv is fully open and committed to open access; SSRN has mixed access. Both are free to use for readers. For comprehensive social science preprint coverage, check both.

What social science disciplines does SocArXiv cover?

SocArXiv's strongest disciplines are: sociology, political science, education, communications and media studies, law and legal studies, geography, anthropology, gender studies, public policy, and urban studies. It has growing coverage in economics (though SSRN and EconPapers are stronger there) and history (though historians more often self-archive on institutional repositories or academia.edu).

Do social science preprints convert well to EPUB?

Generally very well. Social science papers are typically single-column, text-heavy documents with clear section structure. Qualitative papers (interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis) convert especially cleanly. Quantitative papers with statistical tables may lose some table formatting, but the narrative and interpretation sections — often the most important for reading — convert excellently. Long working papers and policy reports from SocArXiv are among the best candidates for EPUB conversion.

How do I find SocArXiv preprints on a specific topic?

Search directly at osf.io/preprints/socarxiv using keywords or browse by discipline. You can also find SocArXiv papers via Google Scholar — search your topic and look for osf.io links in results. ORCID profiles often link to SocArXiv deposits. For the most recent preprints, SocArXiv's RSS feed or Twitter/X account announce new deposits. Many social scientists also post links to their SocArXiv preprints on their university profile pages.

How to Convert SocArXiv Social Science Preprints to EPUB for E-Reader Reading (2026)

Updated June 2026 · Research

SocArXiv is the open preprint server for the social sciences — free to deposit and free to read, operated by the Center for Open Science. It covers sociology, political science, education, communications, and related fields. Converting SocArXiv PDFs to EPUB makes long working papers and research reports much more comfortable to read on an e-reader.

Social science preprint and paper sources compared

Source	Strongest disciplines	Free?	Operator
SocArXiv	Sociology, political science, education, comms	Yes	Center for Open Science
SSRN	Economics, finance, law, accounting	Yes	Elsevier
EconPapers	Economics working papers	Yes	Research Papers in Econ (REPEC)
Academia.edu	Social sciences, humanities broadly	Free account	Academia, Inc.
PsyArXiv	Psychology, behavioural science	Yes	Center for Open Science
AgriXiv	Agriculture, food science	Yes	Center for Open Science

How to download and convert a SocArXiv preprint to EPUB

Go to osf.io/preprints/socarxiv and search by keyword or discipline
On the preprint page, click the PDF download button
Go to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub and upload the PDF
Download the EPUB with section headings as a navigable table of contents
Send to Kindle by email or transfer to Kobo by USB

Frequently asked questions

What is SocArXiv?: SocArXiv (osf.io/preprints/socarxiv) is a free, open preprint server for the social sciences, hosted by the Center for Open Science on the Open Science Framework (OSF). It covers sociology, political science, economics, education, communications, law, geography, anthropology, history, and related disciplines. All preprints are freely available without subscription. It's the social science equivalent of bioRxiv (biology) or PsyArXiv (psychology).
How is SocArXiv different from SSRN?: Both SocArXiv and SSRN host preprints and working papers in the social sciences, but they differ in ownership, governance, and disciplinary focus. SSRN (owned by Elsevier) is strong in economics, finance, and law. SocArXiv (operated by the non-profit Center for Open Science) is stronger in sociology, political science, and education. SocArXiv is fully open and committed to open access; SSRN has mixed access. Both are free to use for readers. For comprehensive social science preprint coverage, check both.
What social science disciplines does SocArXiv cover?: SocArXiv's strongest disciplines are: sociology, political science, education, communications and media studies, law and legal studies, geography, anthropology, gender studies, public policy, and urban studies. It has growing coverage in economics (though SSRN and EconPapers are stronger there) and history (though historians more often self-archive on institutional repositories or academia.edu).
Do social science preprints convert well to EPUB?: Generally very well. Social science papers are typically single-column, text-heavy documents with clear section structure. Qualitative papers (interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis) convert especially cleanly. Quantitative papers with statistical tables may lose some table formatting, but the narrative and interpretation sections — often the most important for reading — convert excellently. Long working papers and policy reports from SocArXiv are among the best candidates for EPUB conversion.
How do I find SocArXiv preprints on a specific topic?: Search directly at osf.io/preprints/socarxiv using keywords or browse by discipline. You can also find SocArXiv papers via Google Scholar — search your topic and look for osf.io links in results. ORCID profiles often link to SocArXiv deposits. For the most recent preprints, SocArXiv's RSS feed or Twitter/X account announce new deposits. Many social scientists also post links to their SocArXiv preprints on their university profile pages.