Research Commons University of Waikato Institutional Repository

Overview

Research Commons is the University of Waikato's open-access institutional repository, housing research publications and theses produced by the university's staff and students. Its purpose is to publicise, freely disseminate, and preserve the scholarly work of Waikato's academic community, ensuring its research activities are visible locally, nationally, and internationally.

History and Background

Research Commons was established as part of New Zealand's broader open-access infrastructure. It is built on the DSpace open-source software platform and was listed in the OpenDOAR directory. The repository's social media account was created in March 2012, suggesting the repository was active by at least that time. It operates under the University of Waikato Library's Open Research Team, contactable at library@waikato.ac.nz.

Collections and Holdings

The repository contains journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, working papers, and reports contributed by university academic staff, as well as Higher Degree and Masters Degree theses from students enrolled from 2006 onwards. The Library retrospectively scans and uploads older print theses on request. The repository contains material across all academic disciplines represented at Waikato, including Māori and Pacific studies, science, technology, engineering, humanities, and social sciences.

Access and Usage

Research Commons is freely accessible at researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz. Not all listed documents are open access; some are only available via publisher journal sites. University of Waikato academic staff are encouraged to submit their work directly to the repository.