UC Libraries will be closed Wednesday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day. Regular hours will resume on Thursday, November 12.
Category Archives: CEAS Library
Open Access Week 2026 – Registrations, Registered Reports, and Preprints: additional research outputs in the open research approach.
Registrations, Registered Reports, and Preprints: additional research outputs in the open research approach.
The Open Access Week blog posts from 10/19 and 10/21 focused on Open Access publishing for the article which is part of a bigger research approach known as open research or open science. Per the UNESCO Open Science effort1, the goal is to make scientific knowledge accessible and reusable. If done completely through the research lifecycle, then every step of the process and all the research output is openly available by project’s end. Not all projects can make the process completely open and share all the outputs e.g. a data set containing personal identifiable information, and the best efforts are to try for “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” 2. Prior to the publication of the accepted article version of record, there are other options to promote research projects. These are known as Registrations and Preprints. Registered Reports are derived from registrations and are fully peer-reviewed like other articles. So how do researchers get the most from these practices and additional outputs?
Registrations3 make the study plan available early in a project and allow peer review of the protocol before data is collected. It also provides a time stamp for this stage of the project. This can help optimize a research project to ensure that the necessary data is collected to address the intended research question. Also, this practice promotes impartiality, quality, reproducibility, and transparency. Certain journals4 will commit to publishing a registered report from the registration. This means there will be a scholarly publication regardless of the outcome even if this includes negative results. Publishing a registered report demonstrates that negative results have value and to let other researchers in the discipline know this research was attempted already and under what conditions. The registration and the registered report get a digital object identifier and metadata, and the identifiers for project related output can be compiled to track the project through its lifecycle.
Continue readingOpen Access Week 2026 – a graduate student’s experience
by Collin Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Collin Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP graduated from the University of Cincinnati in August of this year. He is a speech-language pathologist and an assistant professor at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania in the Occupational Therapy and Communication Sciences and Disorders department.
After five years of practicing as a speech-language pathologist, I applied to a PhD program out of frustration with what I still didn’t know about my field. While I am grateful for the experience and the career I chose, it wasn’t until I heard about open science that I realized what I didn’t know may have simply been hiding behind a paywall. Part of open science involves open access, a practice that makes research available without a subscription to a database or journal.
Open access appealed to me from both sides of my career. As a citizen of the United States and a practicing clinician, I found it compelling that the science my tax dollars fund can (and should!) be freely accessible to me. As a budding researcher, I found it equally compelling that whoever wants to read or interact with my hard work should be free to do so.
It wasn’t until diving in a bit more that I realized open science doesn’t just make research accessible; it also holds researchers accountable. Practices like preregistration, for example, ask you to commit to your plan publicly before collecting any data. To come up with a research idea as a PhD student is one thing; to commit to and describe every detail of my study before it begins is another. That commitment felt daunting at first, but I wasn’t starting from scratch. Because others had shared their work openly, I was able to find similar experimental designs, templates to plan and justify every step of my data organization and analysis, and even open educational resources so that I did not have to reinvent the wheel for every course I teach. As a new student and now a new professor, I still find these resources invaluable, and they’ve shaped how I see my role in the field.
The world of science and education is changing, and the demands on those of us in these roles keep growing. Open science reminds me that we are a community who can share the burdens of academia together, build on the foundations others have laid, and make our commitment to science more than a single ripple.
Open Access Week 2026 – Open Data Repositories: Choosing the Right Home for Your Research Data
By Tiffany J. Grant, PhD
Traditionally, research findings were published in journal articles, but much of the data gathered in the process was seldom made available. Now funders, publishers, and institutions demand that both publications and supporting data be openly available. Open research does not stop at publications; it also includes all research outputs, such as data, code, and even open peer review. Open access can help increase the impact of research and potentially speed up new discoveries.
Federal policies require researchers to deposit federally funded research in open data repositories. While open-access publishing makes research findings freely available to readers, open data repositories enhance transparency by providing access to the datasets underlying those findings. Open access publishing and open data repositories advance the principles of open science by promoting greater openness, reusability, and reproducibility in research. While open access publishing gives readers access to the story, open data repositories give readers access to the evidence behind the story, allowing others to examine and reuse it.
Open data repositories are places where researchers can share data to make it easier to find. Many open data repositories provide DOIs (digital object identifiers), or digital tags, to help researchers cite their data, support long-term storage, and meet funder and publisher requirements to share data. Sharing research data in a trustworthy open data repository can make your data more accessible, reusable, and compliant with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.
Considerations for Selecting a Data Repository
Simplified flowchart for choosing a research data repository. Created with BearChatGPT based on author specifications, October 14, 2026.
Selected Repository Options
Generalist Repositories
General repositories accept research data, code, and scholarly outputs regardless of subject matter, data format, or academic discipline. These are good options when no disciplinary repository exists.
- Figshare: Supports datasets, code, figures, posters, presentations, and other research outputs. Provides DOIs, versioning, and sharing controls, making it popular among universities and research institutions. UCFigshare is the data repository available for federally funded University of Cincinnati researchers to promote the sharing of scientific data in compliance with. UCFigshare provides a data sharing platform consistent with the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) data principles and is provided via a partnership between the Office of Research, UC Libraries, and DTS.
- Zenodo: A free multidisciplinary repository that allows researchers to share datasets, software, publications, and other research products while receiving a DOI.
- Dryad: A curated repository commonly used for datasets associated with scholarly publications, particularly in the life and environmental sciences.
Domain Specific Repositories
Domain-specific repositories are specialized repositories that collect, preserve, and share data, code, or research outputs tailored to a particular academic field, scientific discipline, or data type.
Social Sciences and Education
- ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research): One of the largest social science data archives, housing datasets related to sociology, political science, education, public health, and economics.
- UK Data Service: Provides access to social, economic, and population data for research and teaching. The principal repository for economic, population, and social research data in the UK
- Qualitative Data Repository (QDR): Supports the sharing and preservation of qualitative and mixed-methods research data.
Health and Biomedical Sciences Repositories
- GenBank: Genetic and DNA sequence data.
- Protein Data Bank (PDB): Three-dimensional protein and biomolecular structures.
- Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO): Functional genomics and gene expression data.
- Sequence Read Archive (SRA): High-throughput sequencing data.
- dbGaP: Genotype and phenotype datasets with controlled access mechanisms for sensitive human-subjects data.
Environmental and Earth Sciences Repositories
- Environmental Data Initiative (EDI): Ecological and environmental datasets.
- PANGAEA: Earth system, oceanographic, climate, and environmental science data.
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI): Weather, climate, and oceanographic data.
- EarthChem: Geochemical and earth science research data.
Engineering, Physical Sciences, and Computing
- Zenodo: Widely used for software, code, and engineering datasets.
- Materials Data Facility (MDF): Materials science data.
- IEEE DataPort: Engineering and technology datasets.
2026 National GIS Day celebration – Powering Purpose and Innovation
November brings National GIS Day. UC’s celebration is a collaboration of the Department of Geography & GIS and UC Libraries, and sponsored by the Office of the Provost as part of the Research Nexus Series: Connecting Data, Computing and People. GIS or Geographic Information Systems is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial data to identify patterns, solve problems and better understand the world we live in. Please join us on November 18, 2026 in the Faculty Enrichment Center from 10 am to 2 pm for lightning talks featuring UC researchers across disciplines, lunch, and a careers panel.
Agenda for the Event:
10 – 10:30 am Welcome (donuts, coffee, tea)
10:30 – 12 pm UC Researchers Lightning Talks
12 – 1pm Lunch and networking
1 – 2 pm Jobs panel
The event is free and open to all.
Read Source, which is celebrating 25 years as UC Libraries newsletter!
Read Source, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the newsletter! To mark the occasion, Source underwent a design refresh to both the graphics and website to herald the publication into the next quarter century.
In this issue of Source, Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian, welcomes everyone back to the start of the academic year, while a photo slide show features early outreach activities welcoming Bearcats to campus. And don’t miss a list of Fall Events taking place throughout UC Libraries. The Source @ 25! article talks about some of the changes at UC Libraries documented by Source, and an interview with the Preservation Lab’s Jessica Ebert marks her upcoming 20th anniversary at UC Libraries. A new exhibit on display in the Archives and Rare Books Library explores Cincinnati’s growth and transit transformation from its founding in 1788 to the present day, and the CEAS Library launches a wellness collection. And for those who can’t travel to campus, UC Libraries digital collections are now available via Preservica for viewing online.
Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list. Happy reading.
CEAS Library Launches Wellness Collection
The CEAS Library is excited to share the launch of a new Wellness Collection. Launched in partnership with the CEAS Tribunal, items in the collection include a sound machine, light therapy lamp, and more! All Wellness Collection items are available to check out for 7 days. Stop by the CEAS Library or visit the Wellness Collection guide to learn more.
Data Focus – Upcoming Workshop “Introduction to ArcGIS Online”
Do you want to know more about working with spatial data? Attend the upcoming workshop “Introduction to ArcGIS Online” on October 7 from 1:30 om to 3:00 pm. Registration and workshop details are available in Faculty Onestop. The workshop is free and open to any Bearcat who wants to learn more about the Ersi Platform ArcGIS Online, how to get an UC Esri account, and how to find data with spatial attributes.
Workshop description: This introductory in-person workshop introduces the fundamentals of web mapping and spatial analysis using ArcGIS Online. No previous GIS or ArcGIS experience is required. ArcGIS Online runs directly in a web browser and is available to participants with a UC login.
The workshop will begin with an introduction to GIS and spatial data, followed by a guided tour of the ArcGIS Online interface. Participants will learn how to sign in, navigate Map Viewer, find and add spatial data, work with map layers and attributes, change basemaps and symbology, and explore geographic patterns.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have experience creating and interpreting a web map in ArcGIS Online and will have a foundation for applying GIS tools to their own research or projects.
The workshop will be facilitated by Le Tu, Research and Data Services GIS research consultant. If you want to explore spatial data and GIS resources deeper after the workshop, Le is available for consultations. Visit the GIS Services lab in 412 Langsam.
UC Libraries closed for Labor Day
Systematic Review & Evidence Synthesis Workshops – Fall 2026
The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the UCL Evidence Synthesis Network is offering our popular series of workshops on systematic reviews and evidence synthesis.
Students, staff, and faculty can learn about and work through various components of the review process – from protocol to data extraction – with the support of experienced librarians. We are also offering supplemental workshops on advanced searching, reviews in the social sciences, Covidence, and more!
Pick and choose which workshops meet your needs and fit your schedule! See the full list of workshops and register online.
Recordings and PowerPoints will be shared with all those that register. Please let us know if you have any questions!