Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add my organization's publications to IssueLab?
To get started with adding your organization's works, simply register. Once your registration has been submitted you can add as many publications as you like.
How do I change the contact information that appears on my IssueLab publication page(s)?
Publication pages include two types of information: 1) information specific to the publication in question, and 2) general contact information about the listing organization. The information that you input when you registered your organization is used as general contact information on each publication listing as well as on your organization's page. This general information includes your organization's name, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, web site address, and mission statement.
To change your general contact information, login to your IssueLab account and click on the "Modify account" link. Note that revised information will appear on each publication listing. If you need to change the contact information specific to a publication, simply edit that publication's profile.
How do I remove a publication from IssueLab?
Login to your account and delete the listings you no longer want made available on IssueLab.
Note that you can also make your publications "unavailable" so that the listings remain in the archive but are not accessible on the web site. The advantage of making a publication unavailable is that you won't have to re-input a publication at a later date; you can simply make it available when needed.
I added a publication but it's not appearing when I search IssueLab - why?
Although you can add publications immediately upon registering and as often as you like, your publication must be approved before it is included in the IssueLab archive. Only after approval will your publication be made available on the IssueLab web site. Likewise you will not be able to edit or delete a publication or make a publication available/unavailable until each has made it through the approval process.
I am trying to upload a downloadable document in PDF format so that it is available to download from IssueLab and it seems that the process times out on me -- nothing gets uploaded. What should I do?
Using your account tools, you are able to upload PDF documents that are up to 20 megabytes in file size. If your PDF file is larger than 20 megabytes, please contact our support team and give us details about your publication -- publication title, file size -- and the error message (if any) that you are receiving. Please be sure to include the name of your organization in your message. We will work with you to make your PDF file available on IssueLab.
Also note that you can list your publication and indicate that it is available via e-mail, on compact disc, in printed form, etc., on the publications listing page.
I have a terrific publication that is older than IssueLab's cutoff date for publications. Can I list this publication?
If the publication meets the criteria that we've established for IssueLab content, contact our support team and tell us about it.
I have publications I'd like to list but they are only available in hardcopy. Can I include these in IssueLab?
Yes you can. After registering to add publications, login and add information about your publication as you normally would. Simply indicate that the publication is available to order via snail-mail rather than download from the internet. If you have an order form available to download, be sure to provide a link to that as well.
What digital formats can we include in the archive?
We urge you to make your publications available in portable document format (PDF). This will ensure that the majority of people who want to access your work can do so regardless of their computer type (PC, Macintosh), operating system or installed software.
There are a number of PDF conversion programs available to download, some at no cost (eg., PrimoPDF). A GoogleTM search on keywords "free PDF converter" will get you started.
Of course, you can list publications that are in formats other than PDF but note that everyone who wants your document may not be able to access it if you provide it in Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect or other propriety formats.
What types of publications can I list on IssueLab and what types are not allowed?
Acceptable works include policy analysis reports, white papers, case studies, fact sheets, data sets, and the like.
Unacceptable works are those that do not directly deal with a public policy issue. For instance, brochures about your organization or your programs will not be included in the IssueLab archive.
A general rule of thumb: If your publication doesn't respond to a policy question or issue, if it doesn't add to a current policy debate, it most likely will not be approved for inclusion in IssueLab.
We do maintain editorial oversight of Issuelab. This means that we reserve the right to not publish something that is intentionally hateful.
What's the difference between deleting a publication and making it "unavailable"?
After logging into your IssueLab account, you have the option to delete a publication or to simply make it unavailable. Deleting a publication completely removes it from IssueLab. It cannot be recovered.
Rather than deleting a publication wholesale, you have the option to mark it "unavailable." In this way the listing remains in the archive and can be made available at a future date but it will not be accessible to then general public in any way.
Making a publication unavailable rather than deleting it has the advantage of allowing you to return to your listing later to make it available again. This way you do not have to recreate the publication listing. When you make a listing available again it is immediately accessible to the general public on the IssueLab site.
Glossary
CloseUp
A CloseUp is a special collection that runs on the IssueLab homepage for two months. CloseUps may feature a specific subtopic, a timely issue, or a grouping of research not otherwise readily available online. CloseUps are paired with a podcast in their second month on the homepage, and exist as a collection beyond their two-month tenure. CloseUps are actively disseminated to audiences IssueLab identifies (so we may target legislators for a policy-heavy CloseUp or teachers for a CloseUp dealing with education).
Dissemination
IssueLab not only archives research, it also does outreach. Special collections such as the CloseUp get heavily disseminated in two rounds (when it goes live as well as when the podcast is released) into targeted audiences. Though individual pieces gets singled out by being put into our RSS feeds, becoming a "Featured Report" on the homepage, or getting mentioned in our eNewsletter, most of the work in the archive is disseminated through more general and social media-ready outreach techniques. Much of the dissemination we do centers on establishing IssueLab, and therefore your research, as a useful resource. This means maintaining an active presence on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and developing a broad presence throughout the internet. IssueLab is linked to at over 7,000 sites across the internet in the first quarter of FY09 alone.
LabRat
LabRats are IssueLab's registered user community. Most users on IssueLab are not LabRats, which we hope to change since signing up is free! LabRats tend to be students or nonprofit professionals. LabRats can tag, comment on research, and maintain their own personal library.
Listing
Listings are the pages that users view to access a specific piece of research. Listings are created by research contributors and contain basic information such as authors, abstract/summary, copyright information, and the document itself (we require the document be uploaded to the listing, unless it is a link to an interactive website). Creating a listing generally takes 5-10 minutes.
Open Archive
IssueLab is an open access archive. This means all of the work housed in IssueLab's archive is free and available for download. Each organization chooses their own copyright, so further use is decided by the Research Contributor and can be found beneath the summary/abstract on each listing page.
Permission To Add
The Permission To Add option, found in your organizational profile, is an option that allows IssueLab staff to create listings for you. We will do this as time allows or as need dictates (for a special collection, for example). This is a great way to save time and deepen your relationship with IssueLab. Since this requires a significant investment of time and resources on our part, we hope research contributors who take part in this option choose to contribute to IssueLab in other ways: with a testimonial about IssueLab, mentioning us in your site or newsletter, or even with a small donation.
Research
Work qualified for inclusion in the IssueLab archive. Broader than traditional definitions of research, IssueLab views research as any work that addresses a social issue or policy concern and is data or fact-based. Research must include citations so that users are able to get more information if they desire. Research does not need to be an extensive report; we welcome fact sheets, briefs, testimony, toolkits, datasets, and many other formats.
Research Contributor
Organizations, foundations, and university-based research centers that create an account and upload work on IssueLab. It is free to create an account and add unlimited research. Research is viewable through your research contributor account (in addition to being categorized by title, issue area, or tags). Research contributors are able to edit, add, or make listings unavailable at any time. Research contributors have access to statistics on views, downloads, and ratings for each listing, as well as information on click-throughs to their external website.
RSS Feeds
Users can sign up for issue-specific or comprehensive RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds that will alert them to new listings added. These are sent to their e-mail or viewed through a RSS-feed reader that collects feeds from a number of sources into one place.
Subdomain
A subdomain is a fee-based publishing platform solution offered by IssueLab. Subdomains have the functionality of IssueLab but the look and feel of your site. Your site visitors CAN enjoy a comprehensive and interactive solution for locating and accessing your research on your website (including keyword searching, result sorting, immediate access to downloadable content, and more) all with the unique value of automatic dissemination through IssueLab's existing online channels.
