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Digital Scholarship@UNLV (institutional repository)

What is Digital Scholarship@UNLV?

What is an institutional repository?

Digital Scholarship@UNLV is an online platform designed to openly share and preserve UNLV research, scholarship, and creative activity.

Institutional repositories are a tool in a broader field called "scholarly communication," which is a "system through which research and other scholarly writings are created, evaluated for quality, disseminated to the scholarly community, and preserved for future use."[1]

[1] ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee. (2006). "Principles and Strategies for the Reform of Scholarly Communication."

Is Digital Scholarship@UNLV a publisher?

No, we are not a publisher or a journal. We are an institutional repository, which is a digital platform that hosts published and unpublished research, scholarship, and creative activity produced by members of the UNLV community.

We do host several journals on our platform, but we don't have an editorial role. We simply provide a platform they can use.

I already published my research in a journal, why should I also post it here?

Sharing your work in an open access repository allows others around the world to view, read, and build upon your research, scholarship, and creative activities. This is important for building upon past ideas and advancing fields of research and knowledge. Studies show that research that is shared openly is cited more often, increasing impact.

Huang, C., Neylon, C., & Montgomery, L. (2024). "Open access works -- 420 million citations show OA outputs are cited by more research from more places." The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Submitting Your Work

Who is eligible to submit materials to the IR?

If you were affiliated with UNLV while your produced the material, you're eligible!

What can I submit to the IR?

We accept a wide variety of materials, including but not limited to:

  • Book chapters
  • Research articles/journal publications
  • Capstone projects
  • Class projects
  • Conference proceedings
  • Presentation recordings/slides
  • Published scholarly letters and correspondence
  • Research posters
  • Research reports
  • Scholarly podcasts
  • and more!

Not sure if your work fits the scope of our collections? Submit it and we'll let you know if we have questions.

Do you accept pre-prints?

We do not accept pre-prints, but we encourage you to submit your work to a dedicated pre-print repository! Here are some resources to help you find one:

A pre-print is a draft of an academic article as submitted for peer review. It's also known as a submitted manuscript.

Do you accept post-prints?

Yes, we accept post-prints!

A post-print is a draft of an article after peer review but before copy-editing. Also known as an accepted manuscript.

Do you accept datasets/research data?

We do not accept datasets or research data in the repository, but check out our guide on Data Repositories and Storage to start looking for the right repository! You may also contact our Data Librarian.

I have multiple files related to the same project, can I submit them all together?

Yes! We can display them in the same record (recommended) unless you specifically request that we create separate records for each file (not recommended).

Can I submit a scanned version of a paper or poster?

No, we only accept born-digital submissions.

What file types do you accept?

We accept almost all file types! Submit your file(s) and we'll let you know if we have questions.

I have co-authors/group members, do they also need to fill out the submission form?

It depends!

If the project was created by a) faculty or b) students who did not receive a grade on it as part of a credit-bearing course assignment, co-authors do not need to fill out the submission form.

If the project was created by students who received a grade as part of a credit-bearing course assignment, all co-authors must fill out the submission form.* This is due to FERPA laws. If we do not receive permission from everyone on the project, unfortunately we cannot add it to the repository.

*This does not apply to works that were originally created as part of a credit-bearing course and then revised into the work that is being submitted. It also does not apply to works that are submitted to us directly by the Graduate College (e.g. theses, dissertations, doctoral projects, or professional papers).

When I submit my work, am I transferring copyright to you?

Nope! We (the UNLV University Libraries) do not hold copyright over materials in Digital Scholarship@UNLV. Authors maintain whatever copyright status they have. Whether your Work is in copyright or under a Creative Commons license, the record of your work will indicate so.

Post-Submission

I submitted my work! Now what?

Our team will process your work within 2 weeks of submission. If we need longer, we'll you know.

Within those 2 weeks, we'll review it to ensure it's eligible for upload. If it is, we'll upload it. If it's not, we'll let you know why.

Once your work is uploaded, it's publicly available online for anyone to view! You can create an Author Account and start measuring your impact.

My work has been posted! How can I see my download statistics?

Once your Work is uploaded, you may create an Author Account and start measuring your impact. You may also contact our Research Impact Librarian, Christina Miskey, for help.

My work is currently available in the IR but I want to take it down, how do I do that?

To request removal, please read our Takedown Policy and contact digitalscholarship@unlv.edu for assistance.

My co-author submitted our work without my knowledge or permission. Can I request to take it down?

If a Work was created by two or more authors, each co-author has the ability to grant a non-exclusive license. Our policy is as follows:

  • Any co-author can accept our Submission Agreement for deposit into the repository
  • Any co-author can request removal, which will be subject to our Takedown Policy

New Collections

I'm a professor/administrator who teaches a class or runs a research-related event at the university. Can I set up a new collection in the IR?

Absolutely! We encourage new collections. Contact us at digitalscholarship@unlv.edu and we'll set up a brief meeting to understand your needs and objectives and discuss how we can best support you with Digital Scholarship@UNLV.

I'm interested in starting a new journal and the IR might be a good platform to host it. Do you have a process for proposing new journals?

Check out our guide on publishing a journal in Digital Scholarship@UNLV. You may also contact us directly at digitalscholarship@unlv.edu and we'd be happy to talk with you!

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