The Coverage of Non-Traditional Research Outputs in Repositories and Current Research Information Systems: An Exploratory Study at the University of Bologna

The diversification of research outcomes produced within scholarly communication practices has led to a growing production of non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) such as datasets, software, databases, exhibitions, and multimedia materials, which are often poorly tracked by institutional systems. This study presents an exploratory study about knowledge production at the University of Bologna (UNIBO). This prominent national research institution offers a compelling case study to assess coverage, cross-repository overlap, and citation activity of NTROs across repositories. By harvesting and integrating metadata from the University of Bologna’s institutional CRIS system, the institutional repository AMS Acta, the general-purpose repository Zenodo, the disciplinary archive Software Heritage, and OpenCitations to gather citation information, we analyse the availability of UNIBO-affiliated NTROs and show that, while the UNIBO CRIS platform (i.e., IRIS) remains the primary registry for information on NTROs, a substantial number of them are hosted exclusively in external repositories. These findings highlight structural gaps in tracking NTROs in UNIBO IRIS and underline the need for improved interoperability and coordinated Open Science strategies and policies, at least at the local level, to ensure recognition of diverse research outputs.