About

The Research Commons is the University of Iowa Libraries’ central hub for research support, bringing together digital scholarship, publishing, data services, and research impact.

Our goal is to provide researchers and partners with a single point of access to expertise, tools, and collaborative support—helping transform ideas into sustainable, high-impact scholarly outputs.

Whether developing digital projects, publishing research, or expanding visibility and impact, the Research Commons empowers the campus community to produce more connected, accessible, and scalable work.

A Four-Pillar Approach to Research Support

The Research Commons supports researchers throughout the full lifecycle of scholarly work—from initial ideas and research planning through data and content acquisition, analysis, creation, publication, preservation, and the measurement and amplification of research impact. Through integrated expertise, consultation, instruction, and collaborative services, the Research Commons helps researchers develop new skills, navigate complex research environments, and increaes the reach and value of their work.

Explore & Learn

Helping researchers and students build the knowledge and skills to advance their work.

  • Workshops and instruction
  • One-on-one technical assistance
  • Graduate student programs
  • Digital and data literacy
  • Research consultations
  • Learning communities
  • Online learning resources
  • Experiential learning

Create & Collaborate

Helping researchers design, develop, analyze, and create.

  • Project ideation and scoping
  • Digital scholarship
  • Data analysis and visualization
  • GIS mapping
  • Digital humanities
  • Collaborative project design and development
  • Multimedia, digital methods, and emerging forms of scholarship

Publish & Share

Helping researchers disseminate, preserve, and sustain their work.

  • Open access publishing
  • Institutional repositories
  • Data publication
  • Digital publishing and platorms
  • Scholarly journal support
  • Metadata and discoverability
  • Public scholarship

Measure & Amplify

Helping researchers understand, demonstrate, and extend their impact.

  • Scholarly communications
  • Copyright and author rights
  • Publishing strategy
  • Research metrics and analytics
  • Citation analysis
  • ORCID and scholarly identify
  • Research profiles
  • Visibility and dissemination strategies
  • Impact narratives
  • Public and policy engagement