Thread: Why not more dissertations free, online

Hi All,

I was wonder why, in this age of high speed internet access and cheap hard drive space, do more universities not offer the thesis and dissertations of their students online to the public. I would bet that doing so would greatly increase the frequency which the disertation is referenced and would enhance the contribution of the dissertation to the body of knowledge in the field. I would also think that if access to such research was made easier, quicker, and less expensive, that it might increase the speed at which the fields progress forward. Just wondering.


Thanks,

Jon

Part of it might be the resources necessary to do this. It isn't easy to take printed documents and create electronic ones, especially in volumes necessary to replicate libaries full of dissertations.

A second, and more likely IMHO, reason is that dissertations are books. They're copyrighted, intellectual properties of the authors. While libraries can lend them, distributing them (one way) would violate the authors' rights. And as we've seen in a recent example, some people lack even the most basic scruples and are willing to violate those rights.

edit: I was wonder = I was wondering:D

At the risk of being philosophical (gasp)your question presumes that all knowledge is public and free. While not intending to offend, my response is, "How naive."
Jack

it is my understanding that the dissertation generally belongs to the school and not the student/author.

As for me, I hold the copyright on my dissertation.

And why post it online. I like to know who is using my research. I've had people ask for it and I'm happy to e-mail a copy.

Originally posted by chris
it is my understanding that the dissertation generally belongs to the school and not the student/author.

No. For example, I hold the copyright on my dissertation. I have the certificate from the Library of Congress to that effect.

Originally posted by JustAnotherPoorSlo
As for me, I hold the copyright on my dissertation.

And why post it online. I like to know who is using my research. I've had people ask for it and I'm happy to e-mail a copy.

As have I.

Originally posted by Rich Douglas


As have I.

And me.

Did you have to state that up front, or is that the norm that the student owns it?

Originally posted by Jack Tracey
At the risk of being philosophical (gasp)your question presumes that all knowledge is public and free. While not intending to offend, my response is, "How naive."
Jack

No offence taken:D .

I don't think my question presumes that all knowledge is public and free, all I have to do is ask Microsoft for the source code to Windows XP to prove that isn't the case. I do think that my question implies that all dissertations are public or are avalible for public viewing (save those classified by the government).

In hindsight, I can see how this might not be the case. The school I am attending has the theses for its Master's degree graduates in a seperate library, which is accessible only to students and alumni, from what I understand.

Here are some of the presumptions that I am working on (note that I presume this to apply to the majority of dissertation authors, not all of them), but I am open to being wrong:

1) people who write dissertations did not write it primarily for the purpose of direct financial compensation through the sale of their dissertation.

2) Authors would gain value in having their work cited by others in their field. This value may be in increased status, increased pay as a result of increased status, or simply personal satisfaction.

3) The easier and less expensive a dissertation is to access, the more likely it will be read.

4) The more it is read, the more likely it will be referenced in the writings of others.

5) The costs of having dissertations availible online are getting lower all the time.

Now, i can definately see how some authors /universities would not wish to do this. The biggest reason I can think of is that an increase in anonymous readings of a dissertation may also increase the likelyhood of plagiarism.

This topic is just something I was thinking about during one of my "the world would be much better if all software was open source" phases :D .

Jon

Originally posted by JustAnotherPoorSlo
As for me, I hold the copyright on my dissertation.

And why post it online. I like to know who is using my research. I've had people ask for it and I'm happy to e-mail a copy.

Not everyone is like you!!!!

I have found 2 dissertations that MIGHT have been similar, the abstract was too vague to really know. I e-mailed both authors. The first was in the Air Force, a full Col. now (I couldn't figure out what to call him, Dr. X, Dr. Col, X, Col. Dr. X - :D He replied promptly, and said he edid not own the copy right, so I would have to go through the school to buy it - only $40. He did offer to have a telephone meeting to see if there was synergy between our topics.

The other author is now at Harvard. No response at all.

I understand the reasoning behind it, charging I mean, it is a great deal of work, and it is much like a book, which every body will buy, but I have told the players involved in my resesarch that they will all get a copy, I am still interested to know how this gets set up? Is it presumed the author owns it, unless the schools makes you sign something, is your advisor a cited author? etc.

Originally posted by Han
Did you have to state that up front, or is that the norm that the student owns it?

Copyrighting your dissertation is optional. One may opt not to copyright it but I chose to copyright mine. I paid $45 to UMI for that purpose.

Originally posted by Han


Not everyone is like you!!!!

I have found 2 dissertations that MIGHT have been similar, the abstract was too vague to really know. I e-mailed both authors. The first was in the Air Force, a full Col. now (I couldn't figure out what to call him, Dr. X, Dr. Col, X, Col. Dr. X - :D He replied promptly, and said he edid not own the copy right, so I would have to go through the school to buy it - only $40. He did offer to have a telephone meeting to see if there was synergy between our topics.

IF they are recent, Dissertation abstracts might have them in PDF. If your University subscribes, you can download them for free [check with your librarian.]

Originally posted by Han
I understand the reasoning behind it, charging I mean, it is a great deal of work, and it is much like a book, which every body will buy...

Do dissertation authors get a cut of the fee charged by UMI/Proquest?

Originally posted by JustAnotherPoorSlo
And why post it online. I like to know who is using my research. I've had people ask for it and I'm happy to e-mail a copy.

If you really want to have your work disseminated but still want to know who is using it, it's easy enough to stick it on a website and require registration before downloading. But I guess that's not the point.

Yes - I believe the amount is in the range of $3 - $4 per copy. I've received a couple of small payments (perhaps $50 in total) for mine.

Regards- Andy

Originally posted by Jeff Hampton


Do dissertation authors get a cut of the fee charged by UMI/Proquest?