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Research Materials and Material Metadata

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Creating materials with a Research scope allows primary source documentation to accompany distinct research records. 

For example, you can create a research-scoped written notes material to better track details that can not have been uploaded to the research entry. Should there exist a source, such as Faculty Early Alert on a student record, where a written note is collected during a meeting with a student, a copy of these notes can be associated directly with this record. 

Creating Research Materials

To create a research-scoped material:

  1. Go to the Materials section of the database.
  2. Click Insert.
  3. Enter the following settings:
    • Status: Set to Active.
    • Key: Provide a computer-friendly ID for the material, such as "faculty_early_alert_notes."
    • Name: Provide a human-friendly name for the material, such as "Faculty Early Alert Written Notes."
    • Scope: Set to Research.
    • Access: Set to Admin Only.
  4. Click Save.

Faculty_Early_Alert_Notes.png

Linking Research Materials to Research Records

To connect a research material to an individual research source:

  1. Go to the record to which the material should be attached.
  2. Click the Materials tab.
  3. Click New Material.
  4. In the pop-up, select:
    • Record: Click the select list and scroll down to the Research Sources category. All sources for the record will be listed in reverse chronological order. Select the appropriate source to associate with the material.
    • Material: Select the appropriate research-scoped material.
    • Memo: If desired, add a descriptive memo.
    • Source: Select one of the following options:
      • PDF / Document: Uploaded document will be converted into a PDF
      • Scanner: Select a scanner preset from the list. Opens Slate Desktop.
      • File (no conversion): Uploaded document will remain as-is and will not be converted into a PDF.
    • Upload Document: Click Choose File to select the material attached to the research source.
  5. Click Upload.
  6. Click Save.

Faculty_Notes_Upload_Material.png
  

You can view the material with other materials associated with the record, as well as when viewing the associated research source.

Written_Notes_on_Early_Alert.png

 

Research Material Metadata

Material metadata collects information related directly to a material. Collecting material metadata is often useful when processing incoming documents, as it can provide additional descriptive detail about the contents of the material. 

In addition, material metadata forms can be used to update research values on the source for which it is associated and record details during document processing. Material metadata form details can be found in the Metadata tab when viewing a material that has a completed material metadata form. 

For details on how to create material-scoped fields, view our article on Material Metadata.