FAQ | ISU ReD: Research and eData | Illinois State University Research

Frequently Asked Questions


What is ISU ReD?

Illinois State University Research and eData (ISU ReD) is a digital repository that preserves, promotes, and provides open access to the scholarly and creative output of the ISU community. It contains journal articles, theses and dissertations, presentations, newsletters, and much more.

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Why should I include my work in ISU ReD?

Depositing your work in ISU ReD contributes to a network of open access scholarship, reducing barriers for researchers and increasing your readership. It also provides centralized access to works produced by the ISU community and may fulfill funder requirements. ISU ReD is indexed in Google and provides monthly readership statistics.

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Who can deposit materials?

ISU faculty, staff, students, alumni, and their collaborators are eligible to deposit work in ISU ReD. Deposits may be made by creators/authors, their representatives, or library personnel. Works from undergraduate authors must be submitted via a faculty or staff member from the academic unit from which the work originated.

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What can I deposit?

Works to be deposited in ISU ReD include but are not limited to pre- or post-prints of scholarly papers, reviews, books, and book chapters; presentations, proceedings, poster sessions, or conference workshops; creative works and performances; white papers; student capstone projects; dissertations and theses; technical reports; syllabi, lesson plans and other instructional materials; datasets, and other scholarly or creative works. Works must be in a finished stage. ISU ReD is not to be used as a file sharing system for works in progress. There are no limitations to the amount of material that an author can submit. Should files be larger than 100 MB, please contact the ISU ReD administrator at ISUReD@ilstu.edu for assistance.

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How do I deposit a work in ISU ReD?

The ISU ReD team is happy to deposit your work for you, or you can deposit it yourself. If you are a graduate student submitting your thesis or dissertation, please proceed to the next question. If you would like us to deposit your work on your behalf, please contact ISUReD@ilstu.edu.

To deposit the work yourself, navigate to the ISU ReD homepage and select the “Submit Content” link in the left column. Clicking that link will open a new page listing all ISU ReD collections. Find and select your department’s collection. If you do not see your department listed, please contact the ISU ReD team at ISUReD@ilstu.edu.

Upon selecting your department, you will be prompted to log in. ISU ReD does not use Central Login. If you do not have an account, select the “Sign up” link to create an account. You may use your ISU email or a personal email address.

After you’ve logged in, a Submission Agreement statement will display. You must read and agree to the terms to continue. If you have any questions about the Submission Agreement or are unsure if you hold the copyright to your work, please contact the ISU ReD administrator.

After you’ve completed the Submission Agreement, a form will open for you to fill out descriptive information (title, author, abstract, etc.) for your contribution. You will also upload your document(s) on this page. If you have more than one file, make sure to check the “additional files” box at the bottom of the page. Once you’ve completed the form, click the Submit button. Your contribution will then be sent to the ISU ReD team for final approval before it is made available in the repository.

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I'm an Illinois State University Graduate Student. Can I upload my thesis/dissertation to ISU ReD?

To upload your thesis or dissertation for required deposit, go to https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd and click Submit Content or the link at the top of the page. You must submit to the Theses and Dissertations collection at that link. You will be prompted to create an account, complete the submission agreement and submission form, and upload your work. Instructions are available on the Graduate School website at https://grad.illinoisstate.edu/students/thesis-dissertation/plan.

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What file formats can I deposit?

Any widely used file format (audio, video, image, word processing) will be accepted into ISU ReD. However, there are no preservation measures taken once the files are submitted. Because of this, future users may have trouble accessing out-of-date file formats. Whenever possible, it is suggested that the user submits PDF documents as those are most likely to be accessible in the future. However, if research can only be preserved in a particular format (video, audio, etc.), please submit using that format.

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I signed a copyright transfer agreement to publish my work but would like to deposit it in ISU ReD. Am I allowed to do that?

Your publisher may or may not allow you to deposit the work. Refer to the author agreement you signed or check the publisher’s website for their self-archiving policy. If the publisher has the exclusive right to distribute your work, you may be able to deposit the pre-print or accepted manuscript version. If you are unsure what you can legally deposit, contact the ISU ReD team at ISUReD@ilstu.edu and we will review your publication(s).

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A working paper I deposited in ISU ReD has been published in a journal. Do I need to remove it from ISU ReD?

Many journals do not have any restrictions for sharing working papers (pre-prints) that preceded a published article. We recommend checking your author agreement to confirm and are available to answer questions. We can also update the ISU ReD record for your work to include a citation to the published version. Please contact the ISU ReD team at ISUReD@ilstu.edu for assistance.

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My publisher requires me to wait a certain period of time before I can deposit my work in ISU ReD. What can I do?

If your publisher requires an embargo period before distributing your work, you can still deposit your work and ISU ReD can limit access to your publication. Before depositing the embargoed work, we recommend that you review your agreement with your publisher to identify whether the pre-print or accepted manuscript version can be deposited without an embargo. If you have questions about a publisher’s policy, please contact the ISU ReD team at ISUReD@ilstu.edu.

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I understand ISU ReD can host academic journals. How do I learn more about this?

ISU ReD is an ideal hosting platform for open access journals. The system supports the entire peer-review process from start to finish. In order for us to host a journal, the editor must be affiliated with Illinois State University. You can see a list of our hosted journals. Please contact the ISU ReD team at ISUReD@ilstu.edu for additional information.

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How do I know how many times my work has been downloaded?

ISU ReD users receive monthly e-mail reports showing the number of downloads your work(s) received the previous month and your all-time downloads. A link is provided to your author dashboard, where you can view download counts for different regions of the world and at certain institutions, and see referring sites that led readers to your full-text document.

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How do I request that my name be changed in ISU ReD?

Any author with content in ISU ReD may notify us of a name change at any time, for any reason, by emailing ISUReD@ilstu.edu. In the email, please include:

  1. Name(s) currently listed on your content in ISU ReD
  2. Complete list of items you would like changed, with a URL for each item
  3. The name you would like to be displayed

Although Digital Commons keeps records of content revisions and may notify co-authors of record updates, we will not publicize the change.

This policy excludes name changes to ISU theses and dissertations, which must be handled through the Graduate School. Please contact dissert@ilstu.edu to initiate that process.

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