University libraries use open access digital repositories to preserve and distribute the intellectual scholarly communications of their institution. How can global accessibility of quality student work be harnessed to benefit researchers, practitioners, and educators? To address this question, we study the impact of content factors and search engine optimization factors on download rates of capstone papers. We examined all 290 MPA capstone papers at Texas State University which have been made available through an online digital repository for public consumption. Results show strong support for the impact of search engine factors on download rates. The implications of high download rates of MPA capstone papers on public administration research, practice, and education are discussed in this paper.
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