How to Use Applied Science Commons for Research, Teaching, and Real-World Impact

Using Applied Science Commons in Your Research and Instruction

Using Applied Science Commons in Your Research and Instruction

Applied Science Commons makes hard-to-find, fast-moving “fugitive" literature—e.g., technical reports, policy papers, community health assessments, environmental monitoring data, AI and technology briefings, podcasts, blogs, and videos—as easy to discover and cite as journal articles. Covering materials from tens of thousands of organizations worldwide, the platform bridges academic research with applied science. It preserves current, practical insights in health, environmental science, emerging technologies, and other areas—items that are often missing from traditional databases.

What’s inside Applied Science Commons

Applied Science Commons indexes and preserves millions of items not found in traditional academic sources. Materials are selected for their teaching, learning, and research relevance from governments, agencies, hospitals, corporations, consultants, and research centers. All items are enriched with permanent Content Object Identifiers (COIs), MARC records, and metadata for easy citation, tracking, and integration into workflows.
  • Policy papers and white papers – Recommendations and applied analyses from governments, NGOs, and think tanks
  • Research reports and case studies – Feasibility studies, consultant reports, and community impact assessments
  • Guidelines, protocols, and manuals – Training materials, methodology papers, and promotional literature for health or the environment 
  • Performance data and surveillance reports – Economic indicators, disease surveillance, pilot-project results, and monitoring data
  • Community assessments and action plans – Local health needs assessments, environmental reviews, and improvement plans
  • Industry and corporate reports – Applied research and innovations from companies and experts
  • Blogs, newsletters, and commentary – Insights, analyses, and emerging discussions not covered in journals
  • Podcasts and videos – Briefings, presentations, and interviews with practitioners and policymakers
  • Archived or “lost” content – Materials from defunct agencies, defunded projects, or inactive organizations
  • Datasets and tables – Reports with data tables, exportable to CSV format

Tools to elevate your research

Set alert notifications – Stay up to date on the research and science areas important to you by following specific organizations, topics, custom searches, or curated lists. Receive alerts daily, weekly, or monthly when new publications are added.

Create custom Commons Lists – Curate and organize key resources into reading lists, course materials, systematic reviews, or project collections, all with tools for sharing.

Run tabular extraction – Locate datasets and tables in reports and export them to CSV format for analysis.

Upload content – Share your institution’s reports, datasets, or case studies. Each item you upload is indexed, enriched, and assigned a permanent Content Object Identifier (COI), making it discoverable, citable, and trackable.

Track Impact – Monitor how your organization’s content is being used and cited, to measure your real-world impact. Track the impact of other organizations.

How you can use Applied Science Commons

Students and educators

  • Find practical, real-world insights for your papers and projects, often long before they appear in journals.
  • Explore community-level reports, policy briefs, and impact assessments.
  • Curate and share lists of resources for classes, assignments, or group projects.
  • Build course reserves and teaching lists using reports, policy briefs, and case studies.

Researchers conducting systematic or literature reviews

  • Discover up to forty percent more content than is found in traditional databases, including items from the Global South and non-English sources.
  • Follow custom searches to stay updated on new publications.
  • Use Boolean and proximity operators for precise retrieval.
  • Apply the tabular extraction filter to locate and export tables into CSV format.
  • Upload unique institutional content to share with the global research community.

Government and policy libraries

  1. Access current science reports from governments and NGOs, for policy and program design.
  2. Schedule alerts to monitor key topics (e.g., AI governance, climate policy, public health, environmental science).
  3. Curate lists of essential documents for teams, committees, or projects.

Begin exploring

  2. Register or log in with your institutional email address.
  3. Start exploring. Search, filter, follow, and save materials for your research or teaching.

Need help? Contact us at support@coherentdigital.net or schedule a custom platform training for your organization here.

    • Related Articles

    • Using Policy Commons in Your Research and Instruction

      Using Policy Commons in Your Research and Instruction Policy Commons makes hard-to-find, fast-moving “fugitive" literature—government reports, NGO publications, white papers, blogs, and technical documents—just as easy to discover and cite as journal ...

    • Applied Science Commons A-Z Database Descriptions and URLs

      This article provides ready-to-use, concise descriptions for Applied Science Commons and its modules—ideal for adding to your library’s A-Z database lists, discovery tools, subject guides, or promotional materials. Applied Science Commons (main ...

    • Using Canada Commons in Your Research and Instruction

      Using Canada Commons in Your Research and Instruction Canada Commons makes hard-to-find Canadian books, government documents, think-tank reports, newspapers, periodicals, and primary sources just as easy to discover and cite as traditional academic ...

    • Using Africa Commons in Your Research and Instruction

      Using Africa Commons in Your Research and Instruction Africa Commons delivers Africa’s cultural heritage through previously inaccessible items, searchable on a unified platform. Included are rare newspapers, magazines, photographs, letters, maps, ...

    • How to Explore Mindscape Content on Applied Science Commons

      How to Explore Mindscape Content on Applied Science Commons Learn how to explore Mindscape Commons content on the new Applied Science Commons platform. See how to find immersive videos in mental health, counseling, and psychology; build custom lists; ...