Does Submitting Nontraditional Scholarly Content to an Institutional Repository Provide Academic Value to Submitters? A study at the University of New Mexico
Poster presented at the SCC/MLA meeting in Albuquerque, NM, October 23, 2007. Poster received Honorable Mention from SCC/MLA Research Committee.
Description
Question:Does using the University of New Mexicos (UNM) institutional repository DSpaceUNM to publish nontraditional academic content, such as data sets, posters, and presentations, have tangible scholarly benefits for investigators. Participants: The study population is all registered users who have submitted scholarly work to the DSpaceUNM institutional repository. Setting: The study will take place at the UNM, a large academic institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Method: An email will be sent to all DSpaceUNM users to learn if authors of archived information have gained any real professional value by posting their work to DSpaceUNM. Responses will be categorized by type of value and format of the posted work. Main Results: Anecdotally, the authors have experienced a number of unanticipated benefits from the posting of several pieces of nontraditional academic content into DSpaceUNM. We believe this study will uncover numerous other cases of unexpected benefits experienced by users who choose to deposit nontraditional ('grey') content. Conclusion: Using an institutional repository to disseminate nontraditional scholarly output is likely to increase investigators' exposure. The scholarly value of depositing nontraditional content in an institutional repository is likely to be demonstrated in unique and unexpected ways.'
