Electronic doctoral theses in the UK: a sector-wide survey into policies, practice and barriers to Open Access

Sharing knowledge and research outputs is critical to the progress of science and human development, and a central tenet of academia. The Internet itself is a product of the academic community, and opening access to that community’s most important body of research, doctoral theses, is both a logical and an inevitable development. Progress toward open access to electronic theses has been slow in the UK. Much has been written on the perceived barriers and practical/infrastructural considerations that might explain this, but a comprehensive picture of that progress, and obstacles to it, was lacking. In 2010, a survey of policy and practice in UK HEIs was conducted by UCL (University College London) Library Services (commissioned by the Joint Information Systems Committee, JISC) to address this very issue. Incorporating inputs from 144 institutions currently awarding doctoral degrees, the work provides the first clear and detailed picture of the status of open access to doctoral research in the UK. The mission of the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) is to promote and support the interests of graduate education, and this it does through dissemination of best practice and intelligence on emergent trends; helping to shape policy and practice for the benefit of the UK HEI sector. This report contributes to that mission by bringing to the membership’s attention the results of this important work by UCL Library Services; a collaboration between UKCGE and the authors of the original work, it sets out the policies and practices that emerged from the survey and also considers what has been learned about the perceived barriers to the implementation of open access to electronic theses. The 2010 survey has enabled, for the first time, a differentiation to be made between barriers that are “real” and those which are unfounded and/or yet to be properly validated. At the same time, the work highlights the progress made in certain critical areas, as well as those that require our greater attention. A positive picture emerges for the UK on the adoption of the electronic thesis, with the majority of HEIs surveyed expected to be providing open access to their theses in five years’ time. A more detailed picture also emerges regarding the primary reasons for requests to restrict access to theses, some of which, notably, apply only to electronic (not print) theses. This has necessarily given rise to new policy developments. There is positive evidence also of collaboration among HEIs to provide an efficient and robust service for accessing electronic theses; pooling their resources and expertise either in the development of their institutional repositories or in operating a joint service. The key driver of open access to electronic theses is the opportunity for UK HEIs to “showcase” their research outputs to the widest possible audience and enhance their impact. There are no reliable means as yet to measure this impact, but there are encouraging early indications that electronic doctoral theses attract significant attention when made openly accessible. Open access to electronic theses may therefore indeed accelerate the sharing of knowledge and the progress of scientific discovery and human development

In/gratitude? Library acknowledgement in theses and dissertations at a distinguished African university

Giving credit to where it is due is common across cultures. In research, researchers widely express their gratitude to those who would have contributed to their studies in one way or the other under the acknowledgements section. In most cases, the selection of who to acknowledge remains the prerogative of the author. The purpose of this study was to review acknowledgements in Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) with a special focus on the acknowledgement accorded to the library and librarians at the North-West University in South Africa. This was done in order to determine the perceived value of librarians as partners in the research process by postgraduate students. The study followed a two pronged approach in which bibliometrics and survey research methods were used. In the case of the bibliometrics, ETDs completed between 2012 and 2018 were reviewed. Regarding the survey, both print and online questionnaires were used to gather data from postgraduate students. Excel spreadsheets and QuestionPro software were used to analyse the data. The study findings indicate that supervisors of research work topped the list of acknowledgees followed by family, friends and colleagues. The library/librarian acknowledgements, were among the least with only 15% of ETDs giving gratitude to the library/librarians. However, like in previous studies, it was observed that library/librarians were mentioned in other parts of the ETDs, apart from the acknowledgements section. The results further indicate that the majority of the surveyed participants, held acknowledgements in high esteem. The paper will go a long way in adding value to a body of existing literature which is largely from the developed world. It may also stimulate interest for related studies in other developing countries

The University Digital Library as a Center for Increasing the Digital Competences of Students

This paper aims to outline the advantages of increasing the quality of education at the University by describing some important organizational approaches and methodological guidelines for the development of digital competences among students. The study focuses on the level of digital (library) competencies among students and their need to use scientific information sources in the University Library. A survey was conducted using the direct individual inquiry method through a pre-designed questionnaire comprising 20 questions. The statistical apparatus includes statistical methods - frequency, mean value and confidence level – 95 %. The survey results suggest that in today's digital society it is particularly important for the Library to become an information-communicative center for improving the students' skills by using the rich collection of information and digital resources and increasing the quality of education and training at the University. The presented study seeks to offer new approaches and ways to motivate students toward effective use of digital information and of new tools for working in the digital environment

Information and Communication Technologies as means for self-improvement at remote universities: the example of Urgench State University, Uzbekistan

This paper describes the research conducted at the Information Resource Center of Urgench State University, located in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, on the possibilities and challenges the students and lecturers face in their pursuit for self-improvement and self-education. The article discloses new qualitative approaches and IT methods in the teaching and educational processes in higher education of Central Asian countries in transition, the overall aim of which is to close the gap and shape the spiritual values of the young generation in the globalizing world. The framework conditions for this have been set by the Government of Uzbekistan through particular Decrees, aiming at the creation of e-education at universities and institutions throughout the country and specifically in the remote regions as to improve the access to regularly updated information, to motivate the use of IT in classes as well as to enhance the responsibility of the information services of universities for assuring the quality of research and teaching (pedagogical) activities of the lecturers. The research showed that the Internet can function inter alia as a controlling device when education is delivered through the web. Collection, analysis and preparation of educational-methodological materials on specific subjects and extracurricular activities require specific knowledge on IT and information literacy both in the teaching staff and the students

The Future of Institutional Repositories at Small Academic Institutions: Analysis and Insights

Institutional repositories (IRs) established at universities and academic libraries over a decade ago, large and small, have encountered challenges along the way in keeping faith with their original objective: to collect, preserve, and disseminate the intellectual output of an institution in digital form. While all institutional repositories have experienced the same obstacles relating to a lack of faculty participation, those at small universities face unique challenges. This article examines causes of low faculty contribution to IR content growth, particularly at small academic institutions. It also offers a first-hand account of building and developing an institutional repository at a small university. The article concludes by suggesting how institutional repositories at small academic institutions can thrive by focusing on classroom teaching and student experiential learning, strategic priorities of their parent institutions

Methodological Innovation in Practice-Based Design Doctorates

This article presents a selective review of recent design PhDs that identify and analyse the methodological innovation that is occurring in the field, in order to inform future provision of research training. Six recently completed design PhDs are used to highlight possible philosophical and practical models that can be adopted by future PhD students in design. Four characteristics were found in design PhD methodology: innovations in the format and structure of the thesis, a pick-and-mix approach to research design, situating practice in the inquiry, and the validation of visual analysis. The article concludes by offering suggestions on how research training can be improved. By being aware of recent methodological innovations in the field, design educators will be better informed when developing resources for future design doctoral candidates and assisting supervision teams in developing a more informed and flexible approach to practice-based research

Use of electronic resources by postgraduate students in University of Cape Coast

The study investigates the use of electronic resources by postgraduate students in University of Cape Coast (UCC). It specifically targets first year postgraduate students of UCC. Awareness, usage, training, and access were explored. A survey method was employed and a structured questionnaire was utilized to solicit data. The findings revealed that, though students are aware of electronic resources, they do not fully utilize them to support their academic pursuit due to poor level of information literacy skills. However, few students had not participated in all information literacy skills training organized by the library. Results from the study showed that, significant number of postgraduate students do access electronic resources when on campus and mostly use electronic devices such as laptops, ipad, desktop computers, and mobile phones. The findings indicated that students use the electronic resources to complete assignments, write project work, to update lessons note, for research, and update themselves on new information in their fields of study. It was recommended that a structured curriculum should therefore be established as part of postgraduate students’ normal lecture periods where time is allocated on their time table for electronic resource training, and if possible, credited to their academic performance ratings or grading

What do Our Faculty Use? An Interdisciplinary Citation Analysis Study

During the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013, two librarians from the University of Kansas Libraries conducted a citation analysis of faculty publications in three broad disciplinary areas: humanities, social sciences, and science. The main purpose of research was to find out if the library provides adequate support to faculty researchers. The authors confirmed that KU Libraries provide access to the majority of items used by campus researchers. In addition, the findings will be used in collection management decisions, such as demand driven acquisition. Finally, the authors analyzed additional citation analysis studies in order to establish external benchmarks for their results

Collaborative Participant Notes from the 2019 ETD Symposium at Purdue University on May 23, 2019

This collaborative notes document was shared and edited in real-time by participants of the Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) on May 23, 2019, at Purdue University