Research Support | The Research Commons at The Ohio State University Libraries

Disclaimer: Due to COVID-19, the Research Commons space is currently closed and services are remote until further notice. Below is an overview of what The Research Commons offers when all services are open and operating normally.

The Research Commons is a dedicated suite of services and space on the third floor of the 18th Avenue Library serving graduate, postdoctoral, faculty, and staff researchers. The space is available for researchers to work on interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects – a number of small project rooms and larger spaces are available to reserve online, or researchers can walk-in and utilize spaces on a first-come-first served basis. Small project rooms are equipped with whiteboards, wireless display technology/monitors, and basic technology support is available. Lockers are available to rent daily at no-charge, and students can utilize the wellness room in the basement of the 18th Avenue Library for prayer, meditation, stretching and other mindfulness activities.

The conference room (below) features video conferencing technology and is a great space to reserve for dissertation and thesis defenses.

The Research Commons is also home to a computer lab with 16 computer stations that have a variety of specialized software focusing on spatial and numerical data, as well as text analysis. Researchers can also find two scanners located in the lab.

Every semester the Research Commons hosts a variety of presentations and workshops to help researchers develop knowledge, skills, and methodologies to support their research. Data Visualization, Human Subjects Research and GIS & Mapping are just a few of the many topics.

We also partner with numerous experts to offer 1:1 research consultations in the areas of:

  • Amazon Web Services
  • Copyright
  • Data Visualization
  • Finding Funding
  • GIS & Mapping
  • Human Subjects/IRB
  • Ohio Supercomputer Center
  • Tableau Doctor

You can read more about these services and schedule a consultation here.

In addition, the Research Services department has numerous experts and librarians available to work with researchers in the additional areas of data management, research impact and digital humanities. To access information and online trainings to assist with various stages throughout the research lifecycle, researches can view our helpful research guides. University Libraries also has a team of subject librarians who can help with subject-specific research and scholarship.

Lastly, the Research Commons blog is a great platform for researchers across campus to share about the work they are doing, and how they have incorporated what they have learned from the Research Commons into their work. In the future please reach out to researchcommons@osu.edu if you would like to write a guest blog post. Please follow us on Twitter for the latest updates (@OSURescommons) and we look forward to welcoming you at some point in the future!