Making materials more accessible leads to measurably greater use and readership. Even materials that have already been published elsewhere become more accessible when placed in an institutional repository like Cardinal Scholar. Even the most influential and prestigious journals often allow for the deposit of peer-reviewed post-prints immediately or after an embargo. This arrangement is called green open access, and can provide an effective boost for the reach of your research. Green open access research may increase citation rates by 33%. If you have any questions about copyright permissions, the Copyright and Scholarly Communications office would be glad to help!
Many funding providers make public access a condition for the awarding of grants. Cardinal Scholar offers a simple and effective way to meet these criteria, even for challenging materials like datasets.
Cardinal Scholar is committed to the preservation of Ball State University materials. File formats change over time and may become less accessible, so we prefer items be submitted in formats recommended for longevity.
Students, staff, and faculty looking to increase their online footprint can make their materials available in the repository, submitting items like posters, videos, websites, presentations, exhibits, and more.