Materials with a Research scope enable primary source documentation to accompany distinct research records.

For example, in an admissions or advancement setting, when using a research-scoped newspaper clipping material, if a source such as “Staff Research” exists where information is collected about awards, business activity, or other news items, the details can be captured in the research record, and a copy of the newspaper clipping can be associated directly with that record. 

In a student success setting, research-scoped written notes materials can be used to better track details that were not included in a research entry. Should a source such as Faculty Early Alert exist on the student record, where written notes are collected during a meeting with a student, copies of these notes can be associated directly with this record.

Creating Research Materials

To create a research-scoped material:

1. Click Database on the Slate navigation bar. The Database page appears.

2. In the Records and Datasets area, select Materials. The Materials summary page appears with a list of existing materials records.

3. Click Insert. An Insert Record in Materials popup appears.

4. Enter the following configurations:

   • Status: Set to Active.

   • Folder: Select an existing folder or select Other and enter a new folder name.

   • Key: Provide a computer-friendly (lower case, with no spaces or special characters) name for the material.

   • Name: Provide a human-friendly name for the material.

   • Scope: Set to Research.

   • Access: Set to Admin Only.

   Admissions or Advancement Example

   

   Student Success Example

   

5. Click Save. The new materials record appears on the Materials summary page.

Linking Research Materials to Research Records

To connect a research material to an individual research source:

1. Open the record page where the material should be attached.

2. Select the Materials tab on the record page. A list of materials for the record (if any) appears.

3. Click New Material. A Material popup appears.

4. Enter the following configurations:

   • 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 available options:

     • PDF / Document: The uploaded document is a PDF or will be converted to a PDF.

     • Scanner: Select a scanner preset from the list (this opens Slate Desktop).

     • File (no conversion): The uploaded file will remain as-is and will not be converted to a PDF.

   • Upload Document: Click Choose File to select the material to be attached to the research source.

   Admissions or Advancement Example

   

   

   Student Success Example

   

   

5. Click Upload. A thumbnail image of each material page appears.

6. Click Save.

The material can be viewed along the other materials associated the record, as well as when viewing the associated research source.

Admissions or Advancement Example

Student Success Example

  

Research Material Metadata

Use material metadata to collect information related directly to a material. This is often useful when processing incoming documents because it can provide additional descriptive detail about the contents of the material.

Also, material metadata forms can update research values on the associated source and record details during document processing. Material metadata form details can be found on the Metadata tab when viewing a material that has a completed material metadata form. 

For additional information on creating material-scoped fields, refer to the Material Metadata article in the Knowledge Base.