About TopSCHOLAR® and Institutional Repositories

TopSCHOLAR® is The Research and Creative Activity Database of Western Kentucky University. Today hundreds of faculty, staff and students are showcasing their accomplishments by contributing electronic files for uploading. TopSCHOLAR® also provides a system for launching new publications and capturing conference presentations.

Initial funding was provided by the Dean of Libraries and the Provost's Initiatives for Excellence in 2007–08; continued support for this university service is provided by the Department of Library Technical Services.

We can DIFY (Do It For You). We will work with you to upload your content, check permissions, and coordinate training for new journals, conference proceedings, or other publications you want to create for WKU. For individual contributions, just send your electronic files and copyright form (https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/TopSCHOLAR.pdf) to TopScholar@wku.edu.

Another benefit is the Faculty/Staff SelectedWorks Pages, as a complementary site, that individuals can manage and create to showcase content, accomplishments, and links to professional organizations. SelectedWorks™ showcases your research and creative activities. It brings your scholarly production and creativity to a new level of visibility. With SelectedWorks™ you can create a professional site and make your research available to others in a simple process that requires only minutes of your time.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/sw_gallery.html

Institutional Repositories (IRs) bring together all of a University's research under one umbrella, with an aim to preserve and provide access to that research. IRs are an excellent vehicle for working papers or copies of published articles and conference papers. Presentations, senior theses, and other works not published elsewhere can also be published in the IR.

To learn more about Institutional Repositories, please visit our IR research page.