University Libraries - Research Commons - FAQs

The Research Commons is the University of Iowa Libraries’ interdisciplinary hub for research support. It connects faculty, students, researchers, and campus partners with guidance, tools, and services across the research lifecycle.  

By bringing together the expertise of the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio (DSPS) and Scholarly Impact, the Research Commons provides a single destination to access coordinated support in digital scholarship, scholarly publishing, research visibility, emerging technologies, and collaborative research.  

The Research Commons was created to make it easier for researchers to find the support they need in one place; strengthen the Libraries’ ability to sustain and grow research support services; and respond to the evolving needs of the University of Iowa research community.  

By bringing these services together, the Research Commons will: 

• Simplify how researchers access support  

• Increase collaboration across Libraries departments  

• Improve visibility of research support services  

• Build sustainable staffing and service models  

• Strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships 

The biggest change is how research support is organized—not what support is available. The Research Commons brings related expertise together so researchers experience: 

• One entry point for research support 

• Better coordination across Libraries departments and specialists  

• Clearer pathways to services  

• Improved continuity throughout a project’s lifecycle  

• More seamless collaboration across areas of expertise  

Many of the people, programs, services, and partnerships established in DSPS and Scholarly Impact are integrated into the Research Commons. Current projects, collaborations, and services will continue while benefiting from more coordinated support.  

Researchers can continue to expect: 

• The same trusted staff and subject matter expertise  

• Research consultations  

• Digital scholarship support  

• Scholarly publishing services  

• Research impact and bibliometric support  

• Workshops and instructional programming  

• Graduate fellowship program and course offerings  

• Ongoing project hosting and maintenance  

• Continued partnerships and collaborative projects.  

The Research Commons builds on the strong foundation established by the DSPS. Staff, expertise, successful programs, and many familiar services continue as part of the Research Commons, where they are more closely connected with complementary research support services.   

Scholarly Impact services also continue as part of the Research Commons. Support for scholarly publishing, open scholarship, copyright, research visibility, bibliometrics, author rights, ORCID, Open Educational Resources (OER), and related consultations remain available.  

No. The Research Commons reflects a new service model that brings together the Libraries’ research support services in one coordinated hub. It is designed to help researchers create and collaborate, publish and share their work, measure and amplify its impact, and explore and learn new approaches throughout the research lifecycle. While many familiar services remain, they are now connected through a shared framework that makes research support easier to access and more collaborative. 

The Research Commons serves:  

• Faculty  

• Graduate students  

• Undergraduate students  

• Research staff  

• Campus partners  

• Community collaborators, when appropriate  

Research Commons services are organized into four interconnected areas/pillars: 

Create & Collaborate  

Support for planning, designing, and developing research projects, including digital scholarship, GIS and mapping, digital collections and exhibits, emerging technologies, technical consultation, and collaborative project development. 

Publish & Share 

Support for scholarly publishing, open access, copyright, publishing platforms, institutional repository services, digital publishing, and author rights. 

Measure & Amplify  

Support for research visibility and assessment through bibliometrics, citation analysis, ORCID, research impact reporting, grant narratives, and research analytics. 

Explore & Learn 

Workshops, consultations, fellowships, instructional programs, digital scholarship training, and learning opportunities that help researchers build new skills. 

Examples include: 

• Digital humanities projects 

• GIS and mapping  

• Digital exhibits  

• Data visualization  

• Podcasting  

• Scholarly publishing  

• Open educational resources  

• Open access publishing  

• Copyright questions  

• Research impact reports  

• ORCID profiles  

• Digital collections 

• Student research projects  

Yes. The Research Commons offers workshops, consultations, fellowships, instructional resources, and collaborative learning opportunities for researchers at all experience levels.  

The Research Commons helps you navigate challenges, discover opportunities, and move your work forward through supports at every stage of the research lifecycle, including: 

• Building research skills through emerging technologies, methods, and tools  

• Developing research ideas 

• Planning projects 

• Building digital resources 

• Publishing scholarship  

• Sharing research outputs  

• Preserving digital work  

• Measuring research impact  

• Expanding research visibility

Complete the Research Commons consultation request form. We’ll help you identify the expertise you need, connect you with the appropriate specialists, and determine the best path forward for your project or research questions.