# Independent review packet: University of Southern California

Dataset version: 2026.08-calibration-3
First-pass review date: 2026-08-28
Profile: https://manusights.com/resources/research-publishing-support-index/university-of-southern-california
Protocol: https://manusights.com/resources/research-publishing-support-index/review

## Review boundary

This packet evaluates how easy institution-owned research-publishing support is to discover and use from public pages. It does not evaluate research quality, prestige, faculty performance, or the private quality of services. The first-pass composite is not a national rank, award, certification, or endorsement.

## Reviewer declaration

- Reviewer name:
- Affiliation and role:
- Relevant expertise:
- Conflict with this institution: [ ] None  [ ] Described below
- Conflict note:
- I confirm I am independent and have no disqualifying conflict: [ ] Yes  [ ] No
- I consent to public attribution of this review: [ ] Yes  [ ] No

## First-pass summary

USC provides accessible subject and faculty research help, while its advanced publishing and data journey is less centralized.

- Standout signal: Subject librarians offer a clear human entry point for research and discipline-specific support.
- Clearest opportunity: Build one visible advanced-research hub spanning synthesis, manuscript readiness, data, rights, and publishing.

## Dimension checks

### Findability and navigation

- First-pass assessment: 12/15
- Rubric question: A researcher can find a coherent support hub, subject expertise, and a clear route to help.
- First-pass note: Faculty research help and subject librarians are easy to find, while advanced publishing and data support are less unified publicly.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

### Literature search and evidence synthesis

- First-pass assessment: 12/15
- Rubric question: The institution offers practical help with searching, evidence synthesis, citations, and research discovery.
- First-pass note: Reference librarians, guides, and subject specialists support discovery and research strategy.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

### Manuscript preparation and submission

- First-pass assessment: 13/20
- Rubric question: Researchers can find guidance for writing, reporting, publication strategy, and preparing work for submission.
- First-pass note: Publishing-impact guidance is available, with limited central manuscript-preparation support.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

### Open access, copyright, and publishing

- First-pass assessment: 14/20
- Rubric question: Public support covers publishing options, open access, rights, repositories, and author-cost questions.
- First-pass note: Open access, scholarly communication, copyright, and repositories are available but distributed.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

### Integrity, reproducibility, data, and AI

- First-pass assessment: 14/20
- Rubric question: Researchers can access data-management, reproducibility, research-integrity, and responsible-AI guidance.
- First-pass note: Data-management and responsible-research support are present in specialist resources rather than one central lifecycle hub.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

### Practical access and maintenance

- First-pass assessment: 8/10
- Rubric question: Help is actionable through consultations, workshops, templates, accessible pages, and current maintenance.
- First-pass note: Ask-a-librarian and subject-specialist routes are clear, but advanced service navigation takes more effort.
- Independent check: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected  [ ] Insufficient evidence
- Reviewer note:

## Official evidence checks

### Source 1: USC Libraries faculty services

- Official URL: https://libraries.usc.edu/faculty-students/faculty
- Dimensions supported: findability, evidence, manuscript, publishing, access
- First-pass observation: The official page connects faculty to research consultations, subject librarians, guides, journal and impact resources, and instructional support.
- Source still resolves and is institution-owned: [ ] Yes  [ ] No
- Reviewer note:

### Source 2: USC scholarly communication toolkit

- Official URL: https://libraries.usc.edu/databases/association-college-and-research-libraries-acrl-scholarly-communication-toolkit
- Dimensions supported: publishing, integrity
- First-pass observation: The library provides access to publishing, copyright, open-access, data-management, and repository guidance.
- Source still resolves and is institution-owned: [ ] Yes  [ ] No
- Reviewer note:

## Independent outcome

- Outcome: [ ] Confirmed  [ ] Corrected
- Required note:
- Official evidence supporting any correction:
- Reviewed on (YYYY-MM-DD):

Submit the completed packet to team@manusights.com. Manusights verifies proposed corrections against the live official source, records accepted changes in version history, and does not count a review completed by the first-pass reviewer as independent.