Archiving Course and Research Outputs

Once you’ve completed work, you want to store and share it in a way that can be accessible to your partners, future students, and others who are curious about the research, thinking, and design you completed. This guide covers how to archive your outputs.

Download Blue Page: Archiving Course and Research Outputs

Additional Resources
Copyright Blue Page
Washington University FERPA Policy
St. Louis Projects on WashU Open Scholarship

SET EXPECTATIONS

From the beginning, set expectations about how work will be shared and accessible.

With Your Partners
Discuss your partners’ needs before you start your project. What formats work for them? How will they use materials you provide them? What restrictions will they have on using the materials?

With Your Team
When working with collaborators, research assistants, or others, ensure you are on the same page about archiving and collecting data. Establish standards for file organization and naming, as well as a vision for how completed work will be shared, at the onset of a project.

With Students
When working with students in courses, be sure to start with an upfront expectation about how their work will be shared, including through digital, exhibition, and physical copies. Consider including language in the syllabus (see right). If you hope to store student work through the library, distribute the Digital Repository Contributor License.

Consider Copyright

Don’t forget to consider the copyright of the work you’re sharing. Create images that are clearly labeled with copyright information, and set expectations with partners upfront. For more information, visit the Copyright Blue Page.

COLLECT EVERYTHING YOU NEED

The hardest part of archiving work is getting it all in one place. Before you begin, create a system that collects the information you need.

What to Collect

  • Include syllabus, course handouts, student work, exams/quizzes, appendix (NAAB format)
  • Original boards and images
  • Any media or publications related to your project
  • Students written descriptions of their projects.
  • Accurate list of student preferred names and contact information.

Where To Store Your Materials

  • We recommend using box.wustl.edu. This resource is available to all WashU employees and students, and has unlimited storage capacity.
  • Always have a faculty member as the owner of a folder. When students graduate, files are automatically deleted.

Label The Work: Include Names

  • While including names can’t prevent copyright infringement, it can help make it easier to attribute and find the author.
  • Include at least the author’s name and the license in each individual document, if not on each page.
SHARE ON OPEN SCHOLARSHIP

Projects that are based in the St. Louis region are eligible to be included in the Engaged Projects Open Scholarship Portal through the Libraries.

What is Open Scholarship? 
Open Scholarship is a digital archive that provides access to scholarly output from the University. It has the ability to hold large files, be searched by metadata, and provide variation in the access to files.

How does work appear on Open Scholarship? 
The Office for Socially Engaged Practice works with the Libraries to compile work from courses and studios for display on Open Scholarship. It is best to plan to include work before the course begins.

What permissions are needed?
For work to be shared with the general public through Open Scholarship, written consent from the authors is needed. See the Washington University FERPA Policy for more information, and the Digital Repository Contributor License for an agreement template.

TELL THE STORY

Once you’ve collected your materials, tell the story of your initiative and share in appropriate venues.

You might consider sharing your work in these venues:

  • Peer-reviewed journals
  • Blogs
  • Newspaper editorials
  • Local/neighborhood newsletters
  • Regional publications

You may also want to refer to the Communications Blue Page for additional details about publication.

Engaged projects may be featured on the Sam Fox School Recent Initiatives page. Contact the Office for Socially Engaged Practice for more information.

Sample Syllabus Language

“In order to meet learning objectives, instructors may require that materials produced in this course be made publicly accessible for education and research through exhibition, print or digital publication, or online archive. In some cases, these materials may be shared with community partners. Students retain ownership of all rights held under copyright for materials they create. Students’ consent to distribute their materials is revocable for three months following the conclusion of the course via notification in writing to the faculty member.”