Community of Science How-To
How to Join COS
Community of Science, Inc. (COS) is an excellent source of funding information, as well as potential collaborators, for both faculty and students. This research database is a global registry of funding sources and academic and nonacademic researchers in all disciplines ("science" here derives from L. scientia, 'knowledge'). COS brings together the world's most prominent scientists and researchers at more than 1,600 universities, corporations, and government agencies worldwide. SIUC's institutional subscription covers the use of the COS databases for all SIUC faculty, staff, and students in the siu.edu domain.
SIUC recommends that all faculty and staff members join COS for help in finding funding opportunities, to promote the industrial relevance of their research, and to find collaborators from within and without the University. Here's how to create your personal COS "workbench," receive funding alerts, and create and regularly update your expertise profile.
- Go to the COS homepage.
If you already have a COS username and password, log in by entering both on the left-hand side of the page under COS Workbench. (If you've forgotten your username and password, go to Request It Here.) If you have not already registered with COS, click on the link in the green box at the upper left of the page that says New User? Register FREE. Click the Join button in the middle of the next page to register.
Fill in the fields with your information, paying close attention to the information that is required. For the "Institution" field, scroll down the list and select "Southern Illinois University." Click Continue.
Fill in the fields on the next page with the same consideration for required fields. When this is complete, click Continue.
Fill in the fields on the next page, including the username and a password of at least six characters. For the "term" fields, choose one to three keywords that would be most relevant to finding grant funding for your research, scholarly, or creative activities. Be sure to indicate if you would like to receive e-mail notifications by checking the box underneath the username and password fields. Review the COS Privacy and Data Protection Policy by clicking on the link provided. To finish joining, click the I Agree, Complete My Registration button.
Once you have joined, you can either click the Add Details to Your Profile Now button or the Launch My COS Workbench Now button, depending on which you would like to do at this time. If you choose the "Add Details to Your Profile Now" button, you should then click the "Edit this profile" link at the top of the page. From here you can add information to your profile, navigating between the different fields by clicking on links provided in the "Menu" box on the left hand side. When you are done entering information on each page, be sure to click "Update" at the bottom of the page. To return to the profile, click the "View Full Profile" link in the "Menu" box.
Your COS Workbench
After you have joined COS and launched your Workbench once, you will find that every time you get into COS you can click on Login on the left side of the homepage and go directly to your Workbench page.
The Workbench is the central location for individual members to access their COS profile (see below) and all the services available through COS. Tabs at the top of the Workbench page give you access to the COS funding database, expertise directory, funding news, and reference databases for a wealth of information, including meetings and conferences, the Federal Register, MEDLINE, and more. The options in the left sidebar allow you to manage your profile, manage your COS account, get answers to FAQs, and find out more about COS. (The latter two are under "Help.") Spend some time with each of the sections of your Workbench in order to optimize your familiarity with them.
Adding Details to Your Profile
After you join COS, your Workbench page allows you to add information to create a full profile of your expertise, research interests, and publications, in addition to the information you entered when you registered with COS (which is your basic profile). This information becomes part of the SIU Expertise Database of faculty, staff, and students at COS.
Clicking on your profile on the Workbench page allows you to view and edit your profile. SIUC recommends that you update your profile at least once a year. You also can generate a CV from your profile (see the sidebar of the Workbench page).