Getting Research 'Out There': ResearchSpace@Auckland

Abstract

A key part of the academic research process is publishing the results – ‘getting it out there’. An institutional repository such as ResearchSpace@Auckland provides authors with a channel for near-instantaneous worldwide dissemination of research.

ResearchSpace@Auckland has been developed at the University of Auckland under the umbrella of the Institutional Repositories Aotearoa Project (Ira). Built using DSpace Open Source Software, the repository contains ‘research outputs’ from the University of Auckland’s staff and students, including theses, papers and reports.

The PhD thesis collection is the flagship of the repository – electronic submission is compulsory for all completing PhD students from 2011. The initial 200 items in the PhD thesis collection were gathered by contacting authors of theses submitted at the University of Auckland since 2001 and inviting them to submit digital copies and consent forms. Trials are underway to digitize theses that are unavailable in digital format.

The mandating of compulsory submission for PhD theses submitted at the University of Auckland ensures regulatory requirements for digital deposit are catered for. Other collections for articles, papers, and images are being developed.