This report presents the findings from a study of EThOS (Electronic Theses Online Service) as a model for a UK national electronic theses (e-theses) service. EThOS, under the auspices of the British Library, was chosen by competitive tender to develop a plan for such a service that would operate on the open access principle of providing electronic information free to the user. The current service operated by the British Library (BL) charges users for theses and these are supplied on microfilm.
The main characteristics of national e-theses services in operation elsewhere in the world were identified by desk research and by consultation with managers of those services. A table showing these comparative characteristics is presented in the report. The views of the UK higher education (HE) community were sought on a range of issues relevant to electronic thesis (e-thesis) provision. Interviews, focus groups and an online survey were used for this purpose. The EThOS model was then mapped against the views and requirements expressed by that community....
The assumptions on which EThOS has based the designing of its model are generally robust....
The main benefits are:
Hugely increased visibility of UK doctoral research output
Resulting increased usage and impact of UK doctoral research output
The opportunities for resulting new research efforts and collaborations
The main opportunities are:
Being able to provide a world-class electronic theses service to showcase the UK’s doctoral research
Providing an example of good practice and the impetus for other nations to develop electronic theses services of their own
Possible commercial opportunities for value-added service providers
The report makes a series of sixteen recommendations for stakeholders, the main ones of which are: ...
The stakeholders should themselves plan for a programme of active advocacy within the UK HE community at graduate school and registrar level to raise awareness of the benefits of open access ethesis provision and to advise institutions on policies that will effect this provision
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/23/2006 09:26:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
