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WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...

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Open Access Digital Repository:<br />

Sharing Student Research with the World<br />

Patricia Shields, N<strong>and</strong>hini Rangarajan, <strong>and</strong> Lewis Stewart<br />

Texas State University<br />

ABSTRACT<br />

University libraries use open access digital repositories to preserve <strong>and</strong><br />

distribute the intellectual scholarly communications <strong>of</strong> their institution.<br />

How can global accessibility <strong>of</strong> quality student work be harnessed to benefit<br />

researchers, practitioners, <strong>and</strong> educators? To address this question, we study<br />

the impact <strong>of</strong> content factors <strong>and</strong> search engine optimization factors on<br />

download rates <strong>of</strong> capstone papers. We examined all 290 MPA capstone<br />

papers at Texas State University which have been made available through<br />

an online digital repository for public consumption. Results show strong<br />

support for the impact <strong>of</strong> search engine factors on download rates. The<br />

implications <strong>of</strong> high download rates <strong>of</strong> MPA capstone papers on public<br />

administration research, practice, <strong>and</strong> education are discussed in this paper.<br />

One faculty member who heard about this framework responded, “my<br />

students never create anything that would be <strong>of</strong> interest to anyone<br />

outside my courses.” We were somewhat taken aback by his position,<br />

<strong>and</strong> privately wondered why this faculty member had chosen a career<br />

in teaching given such a pessimistic view <strong>of</strong> students <strong>and</strong> their abilities.<br />

(Levin, Burbules, & Bruce, 2005, p. 47)<br />

How should MPA programs use one <strong>of</strong> their most valuable resources—<br />

student capstone papers? One might think this an odd question. Of course<br />

capstone papers are used as a mechanism to teach students research methods,<br />

connect with the practitioner world, <strong>and</strong> assess student performance. This<br />

is <strong>of</strong>ten where their value stops. New technologies <strong>and</strong> communication<br />

mechanisms are transforming the significance <strong>of</strong> student work. These papers<br />

also contain knowledge <strong>and</strong> information that, given the right circumstances,<br />

can <strong>and</strong> should be shared with the world (Levin, Burbules, & Bruce, 2005).<br />

JPAE 18(1), 157–181<br />

Journal <strong>of</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Affairs</strong> Education 157

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