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The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from research that explored the influence of contextual factors on the adoption and development of Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) programmes in the Arab Gulf States.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of five groups of stakeholders with an interest in the implementation of ETD programmes. The groups were postgraduate students, academic staff, library managers, system administrators, and postgraduate officers from five Gulf States universities. In addition, an online survey was conducted with 309 participants in order to test and explore, in a larger sample, the issues identified in the interviews.

Research participants identified three levels of factors; contextual, institutional, and personal. In addition, they highlighted that contextual factors have an influence on institutional factors. These contextual factors include misunderstanding of plagiarism, strong economy, recencey of research programmes, and younger societies. For example, due to the recencey of postgraduate programmes in the Arab Gulf States, some of the theses and dissertations are low in quality and quantity. The Arab Gulf States have strong economies and this helped to provide the necessary technological infrastructure needed for adopting ETD programmes. Since the Gulf societies are quite young they are more likely to adopt new technologies. In addition, people at these states appear to have a weak understanding of plagiarism issues and thus they have more concerns about these issues.

This paper provides insights about the factors influencing the adoption and development of ETD programmes in the Arab Gulf States.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current status of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) projects in Nigerian university libraries.

A survey research methodology was applied. A total of 125 questionnaires were distributed to librarians in eight government‐funded universities in South Eastern Nigeria.

Only three out of the eight universities surveyed have started ETD projects in their libraries. Other universities have the intention of adopting ETD but very little has been done towards this. The study also revealed that university libraries in Nigeria stand to benefit immensely from ETD projects. Some of these benefits as revealed from the findings include enhancing scholarly communication in Nigeria, promoting the global visibility of Nigerian universities, and enhancing research dissemination. The results of the study also revealed some challenges of ETD in Nigeria. Strategies to mitigate these challenges were also identified from the findings.

The paper establishes that the adoption of ETD in Nigerian university libraries is very low. Nigerian universities must therefore adopt a pragmatic approach to develop an ETD program that will facilitate the dissemination of research documented in theses and dissertations.

The originality of the work lies in the empirical evidence obtained from the eight university libraries surveyed.

The purpose of this paper is to give technical information about the application of ABCD open source software for managing institutional repository of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) at various levels with illustrations.

Practical method and programming in the ABCD software for building ETD repository and its management

ABCD software is an excellent tool for creating institutional repository (IR) and manages it at various levels and to create ETD portal.

The paper describes using ABCD software how one can create database of ETDs, how to submit ETDs in full text or abstract, how to search, how to implement it in open archive environment and simplicity of making union catalogue of ETD repositories on one platform of ABCD portal.

The process of ETD management and IR building using ABCD open source software will be useful to all the new institutions, colleges, universities, national libraries, international organizations who want to initiate the process of building ETD repository.

The development team of ABCD software is still in process of releasing 2.0 versions and to develop tool for IR and ETD management. In this paper attempt has been made to describe with illustrations that how the software is making progress towards ETD management or building IR. One of the author is main project leader of ABCD open source software.

Implementing and maintaining Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) program at a national level encounters numerous difficulties in particular from technical, legal, business, and financial perspective. Business model (BM) is a tool to help to address business-driven challenges, such as business feasibility and viability, as one of the important aspects. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the BM practiced by different national Electronic Theses and Dissertations (NETDs) cases.

BM of seven NETDs programs have been studied through an online questionnaire; besides, programs’ websites were observed and related documents were examined. Business model canvas (BMC) was used to describe the business rationale behind the selected cases.

Most of the NETDs programs lack a documented BM. The main value of these programs is sharing ETDs which is offered to academics through online channels; skillful staff and proper hardware/software are their main resources to do so. Furthermore, their key activities are developing hardware/software and negotiating with ETDs owners as their key partners. All these activities required huge cost which is generally covered by public funding.

This study pioneers in applying BM concept into field of NETDs. Therefore, the major contribution of this study is to provide an analysis of NETDs programs’ BM through BMC. Furthermore, the paper provides recommendations on how ETDs could be implemented in a cost effective, sustainable, and viable way.

Institutional repositories constitute an integral part of present day digital libraries allowing global access to scholarly publications and provides an opportunity for future research enhancement and long term preservation of information. Electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) represent a growing segment of available content in institutional repositories where they contribute to the impact and ranking of their institutions. The present study traces the growth and development of online e-theses repositories in Asia within the broader framework of open access.

The present study tries to discover the composition of ETD repositories in Asia based on the seven key parameters, i.e. country, types, language, disciplines, software, content types and repository policies. To achieve the stated objectives, the ETD repositories developed by Asian countries were identified by selecting the database of OpenDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories) and the retrieved data were thoroughly analyzed for the necessary information.

Theses and dissertations are considered an important part of information resources in any institution. They are often the only source of research work. Unfortunately, access to these valuable unpublished resources is often restricted to parent institution only. The authors found that ETD repositories are addressing this problem by making institutional knowledge available online and thereby not only increasing its visibility and use, but also making them contribute to the impact and ranking of their institutions. Asian countries are beginning to embrace the idea of digitizing, archiving and making their theses and dissertations available online. The study found that more than half of all IRs listed in the directory of OpenDOAR contain ETDs. ETD system is growing fast in some Asian countries. However, the number of universities having e-theses repositories is meager considering the large number of quality academic and research institutions across Asian countries.

The paper argues that ETD repositories not only benefit students and institutions by enhancing education and expanding research, but also by increasing a university’s visibility and use and thereby contributing to the impact and ranking of its parent institutions.

The study hopes to heighten awareness of research being conducted in Asia and its contribution to a global knowledge base. Some of the suggestions to improve the existing conditions and strengthen the growth rate of ETDs in Asia are also presented.

While distribution channels of theses and dissertations have changed significantly in the digital age, they are generally still considered grey literature. This paper aims to argue the applicability of the concept of grey to electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).

The paper is presented as a debate between two contradictory opinions on the application of the grey literature concept to ETDs.

The paper provides a definition of grey literature and then discusses its application to electronic dissertations and theses. In particular, it assesses the aspects of acquisition, quality, access and preservation. Some arguments highlight the “grey nature” of ETDs, such as the limited access via institutional and other repositories. Other arguments (e.g. the development of ETD infrastructures and the quality of ETDs) question this grey approach to ETDs. The paper concludes that “greyness” remains a challenge for ETDs, a problem waiting for solution on the way to open science through the application of the FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability reusability) principles.

Library and information science (LIS) professionals and scientists should be careful about using the concept of grey literature. The debate will help academic librarians and LIS researchers to better understand the nature of grey literature and its coverage, here in the field of ETDs.

Some definitions from the print age may not be applicable to the digital age. The contradictory character of the debate helps clarify the similitudes and differences of grey literature and ETDs and highlights the challenge of ETDs, in particular, their accessibility and findability.

The purpose of this paper is to examine two research questions: first, How do users in different locations find Auburn University Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)? Second, do users in different locations interact differently with the collection and, if so, how?

Google Analytics data for user visits, landing pages, and page views were separated into groups based on user location. Visits data were also correlated with source (referring web site), and landing pages and page views were grouped by type.

Most local users came to the repository via Auburn University web pages. This group usually landed on the collection home page and used internal navigation pages to find what they needed. Submission page views showed that most ETD depositors were local. Most out-of-state users came to the repository via web search engines. This group usually landed directly on bibliographic information pages for individual ETDs. They used internal navigation pages less frequently than local users. Users located within the state but outside of the local area interacted with the collection in a way that was intermediate between these two groups.

Institutions interested in improving repository access for depositors will probably find it helpful to focus on in-state usage reports, while institutions seeking to improve access for end-users should exclude in-state users from their assessments.

This is the first detailed examination of ETDs usage published since 2001 and shows how filtering tools available in Google Analytics allow comparisons of user behavior based on location and source (referring web site).

Electronic theses and dissertation (ETD) symposium is one of the major international activities of Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), and its objectives provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and skills relevant to ETD students, professors and information professionals. This symposium offers an opportunity to put forward innovative plans, debate on ideas and promote closer cooperation internationally. This report is a summary of selected events held during ETD international symposium 2016 on the theme “Data and Dissertations”, with a focus on the handling of research data.

It is a concise review of selected presentations during 19th electronic theses and dissertation annual symposium in University of Lille, France.

ETD 2016 meeting held in Lille was attended by nearly 100 attendees from 28 countries. This report includes a summary of selected presentations on research data, open-access and embargo policies, augmented ETDs and French system for ETDs. It is useful to managers of organizations, teachers and educators, librarians, open-access protagonists and members of information provider communities. The personal interaction with the participants from different countries enriched the author’s ideas about the ETD development.

The author, who was also a speaker, provides an overview of the selected presentations on the initiatives, namely, research data development, copyright laws, augmented digital theses, plagiarism, etc. The important events such as sight-seeing tours to a national museum, informal get-together are covered which may be useful to the audience who are not able to attend but interested to know about ETD 2016.

Many universities and libraries throughout the world are now making digitized versions of traditional (print) dissertations available online. Some of these institutions have even gone so far as to completely eliminate printed copies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) in Iran and elsewhere.

The paper notes that many theses and dissertations are now sitting on shelves, unread, in our libraries. Electronic publication can make these works accessible to students, researchers, and others who perhaps lack time, search capabilities, or finances. The paper looks at what universities are doing about the problem, and summarizes the current position in Iran university libraries.

A growing realization has emerged among those working on ETDs in Iran that it is critically important that libraries remain not just involved, but centrally positioned in the development of the national information infrastructure.

The paper shows that the future of E‐theses and of archiving and searching in general depends on institutions being able to deliver top quality services, with a high degree of interoperability. This means, among other things, that systems must continue to be developed and they must be able to handle many different types of digital objects.

The paper claims that as we prepare students for scholarship in the twenty‐first century, Iran 1400, for example, it is imperative that librarians consider how to manage these important new forms of writing.

There is no proposed solution to address the unresolved issues of publishing music-related electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) pertaining to technology availability, copyright, and preservation. The purpose of this paper is to propose a complete system, including technology development and publishing model, which addresses the existing issues of publishing music-related ETDs. The paper shares the practice of utilizing the system developed by Texas Tech University Libraries known as Streaming Audio and Video Experience (SAVE), and proposes it as a solution for other multimedia collections.

The proposed system includes a technology solution and a publishing model. The technology solution, SAVE, contains an authenticated streaming multimedia player, a responsive-design user interface, and a web-based submission and management system. The publishing model combines a DSpace-based institutional repository (IR) with SAVE and preservation strategies.

The integrated system of SAVE and DSpace-based IR expands the access of music-related ETDs and other multimedia collections to patrons, benefits the distance education students as well as the local students, facilitates professors’ classroom teaching, and helps to preserve physical multimedia items by avoiding check-outs.

The SAVE solution resolves issues of publishing music-related ETDs, fulfills the local needs of publishing hundreds of music-related ETDs from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and supports the publishing of other multimedia collections. The software will be released open source to the public for other universities’ use. The publishing model is also useful for those universities that intend to integrate an IR with the streaming player platform.