ETD Guide/Universities/Reasons and strategies for archiving electronic theses and dissertations

1.     ETDs make the results of graduate programs widely known.

2.     Graduate programs may be evaluated by the number of theses and dissertations (TDs) produced and by the number of accessible ETD's.

3.     In many countries, when financed with public funds, it is expected that TDs will be made public. ETDs are the easiest way to accomplish this.

4.     TDs are part of the assets and history of the universities.

5.     TDs exist and are published on paper, so why not publish them electronically?

6.     TDs are referred by examining committees, a warranty of quality to be published.

7.     TDs contain bibliographical reviews.

8.     TDs present the methods used during research, thus allowing these methods to be used by others.

9.     TDs allow extensions to be identified and undertaken.

10. TDs hold information that will help avoid duplication of efforts.

11. To publish TDs funded with public money is a way of returning the results to society.

12. To electronically publish TDs makes the results known nationally and internationally.

13. To electronically publish TDs makes it less expensive to students, who do not have to print as many copies.

14. Electronically published TDs yield easier and faster access to information.

15. ETDs require less storage space.

16. ETDs can identify and connect national and international research groups.

17. Access to information enhances the quality of TDs.

18. An ETD program introduces digital libraries in the universities allowing other projects to bloom.

19. ETDs are way of sharing intellectual production.

20. Wide knowledge of good quality TDs strengthens the faculty, the graduate programs and the university.

21. Widely known results allow copies to be identified in an easier way.

22. Universities will be able to share knowledge on digital libraries.

23. Access to information enhances the quality of TDs.

The reasons are purposely listed in the order they were presented during the discussion and, no doubt, seem to be quite scattered.

Thus, let's imagine 3 categories of reasons: benefits to students, benefits to universities and benefits to regions/countries/society. The reasons that were listed above can be reorganized and assigned to these categories. First, there are benefits to students which reflect on the university and on society too. Of the 23 reasons above, 15 are beneficial to students:

24. Access to information enhances the quality of TDs.

25. An ETD program introduces digital libraries in the universities allowing other projects to bloom.

26. Electronically published TDs yield easier and faster access to information.

27. ETDs are way of sharing intellectual production.

28. ETDs can identify and connect national and international research groups.

29. ETDs make the results of graduate programs widely known.

30. Graduate programs may be evaluated by the number of theses and dissertations (TDs) and by the number of accessible ETDs.

31. TDs allow extensions to be identified and undertaken.

32. TDs contain bibliographical reviews.

33. TDs hold information that will help avoid duplication of efforts.

34. TDs present the methods used during research, thus allowing these methods to be used by others.

35. To electronically publish TDs makes it less expensive to students who do not have to print as many copies.

36. To electronically publish TDs makes the results known nationally and internationally.

37. Wide knowledge of good quality TDs strengthens the faculty, the graduate programs and the university.

38. Widely known results allow copies to be identified more easily.

Next, the universities are the focus and some reasons that were listed under benefits to students will appear again:

39. Access to information enhances the quality of TDs.

40. An ETD program introduces digital libraries in the universities allowing other projects to bloom.

41. Graduate programs may be evaluated by the number of theses and dissertations (TDs) and by the number of accessible ETDs. 42. ETDs can identify and connect national and international research groups.

43. ETDs make the results of graduate programs widely known.

44. ETDs require less storage space.

45. TDs are part of the assets and of the history of the universities.

46. To electronically publish TDs makes the results known nationally and internationally.

47. Universities will be able to share knowledge in digital libraries.

48. Wide knowledge of good quality TDs strengthens the faculty, the graduate programs and the university.

49. Widely known results allow copies to be identified more easily.

Benefits that appeared under the previous 2 categories will be listed again in this last category, devoted to regions/countries/society:

50. Access to information enhances the quality of TDs.

51. ETDs can identify and connect national and international research groups.

52. In many countries, when financed with public funds, it is expected that TDs will be made public. ETDs are the easiest way to accomplish this.

53. To publish TDs funded with public money is a way of returning the results to society.

54. Universities will be able to share knowledge in digital libraries.

55. Widely known results allow copies to be identified in an easier way.

Finally, two other reasons for ETDs are:

56. TDs exist and are published on paper, so why not publish them electronically?

57. TDs are referred by examining committees, a warranty of quality to be published.

There were 23 reasons when they were first listed. When they were classified, we got 34. The explanation is simple - many reasons bring benefits to more than one category.

It is not hard to come to the conclusion that ETD's are beneficial to all, and that ETD programs are good and should be considered by universities.

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