Hélène Prost

Open access to research data in electronic theses and dissertations: an overview

– Print theses and dissertations have regularly been submitted together with complementary material, such as maps, tables, speech samples, photos or videos, in various formats and on different supports. In the digital environment of open repositories and open data, these research results could become a rich source of research results and data sets, for reuse and other exploitation. The paper aims to discuss these issues. , – After introducing electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) into the context of eScience, the paper investigates some aspects that impact the availability and openness of data sets and other supplemental files related to ETD (system architecture, metadata and data retrieval, legal aspects). , – These items are part of the so-called “small data” of eScience, with a wide range of contents and formats. Their heterogeneity and their link to ETD need specific approaches to data curation and management, with specific metadata and identifiers and with specific services, workflows and systems. One size may not fit for all but it seems appropriate to separate text and data files. Regarding copyright and licensing, data sets must be evaluated carefully but should not be processed and disseminated under the same conditions as the related PhD theses. Some examples are presented. , – The paper concludes with recommendations for further investigation and development to foster open access to research results produced along with PhD theses. , – ETDs are an important part of the content of open repositories. Yet, their potential as a gateway to underlying research results has not really been explored so far.

Document supply of grey literature and open access: an update

Purpose: The article investigates the impact of the open archive initiative on the document supply of grey literature. Approach: The article is based on a comparative survey of five major scientific and technical information centres: The British Library (UK), CISTI (Canada), INIST-CNRS (France), KISTI (SouthKorea) and TIB Hannover (Germany). Findings: All major document suppliers are more or less deeply involved in the open archive movement, and this involvement has an obvious impact on the policy of acquisition, archiving and supply of grey literature (dissertations, reports, conferences etc.). Originality: The article is a follow-up study of our survey published in 2006.

Analysis of the downward trend in document supply in pharmacology: a case study from INIST in France (part 1)

Purpose: The article investigates the evolution of document supply of print serials. Approach: The study is based on data from INIST-CNRS - document supply requests and access to electronic resources - of 95 serials with JCR impact factors in pharmacology. Data were collected from 1992 to 2003. Findings: The results distinguish four groups of serials each with a different evolution of supply requests. Nevertheless, the overall decline from 1999 is a global phenomenon linked to growing access to online journals and there seems little likelihood of a slowdown for the next few years. Originality: This is the first of three articles on a longitudinal study over 12 years on different aspects of the relationship between document supply and impact factor (citations) in pharmacology, a scientific domain with a high use of scientific information.

The customers for document supply in pharmacology: a case study from INIST in France (Part 3)

Purpose: The article investigates the customers for the document supply of print serials. Approach: The study is based on data from INIST-CNRS for document supply requests in pharmacology. Data were collected from 1998 to 2005 (10,000+ customer accounts with 4.6m orders). Findings: The article provides information about the distribution of orders per customer type, about the geographical origin of customers, about the ordering trends among pharmaceutical customers and of pharmaceutical journals. Originality: This is the last of three articles on a longitudinal study over 13 years on different aspects of the relationship between document supply and impact factor (citations) in pharmacology, a scientific domain with a high use of scientific information.

Hidden Treasures: Opening Data in PhD Dissertations in Social Sciences and Humanities

PURPOSE The paper provides empirical evidence on research data submitted together with PhD dissertations in social sciences and humanities. APPROACH We conducted a survey on nearly 300 print and electronic dissertations in social sciences and humanities from the University of Lille 3 (France), submitted between 1987 and 2013. FINDINGS After a short overview on open access to electronic dissertations, on small data in dissertations, on data management and curation, and on the challenge for academic libraries, the paper presents the results of the survey. Special attention is paid to the size of the research data in appendices, to their presentation and link to the text, to their sources and typology, and to their potential for further research. Methodological shortfalls of the study are discussed, and barriers to open data (metadata, structure, format) and legal questions (privacy, third-party rights) are addressed. The conclusion provides some recommendations for the assistance and advice to PhD students in managing and depositing their research data. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Our survey can be helpful for academic libraries to develop assistance and advice for PhD students in managing their research data in collaboration with the research structures and the graduate schools. ORIGINALITY There is a growing body of research papers on data management and curation. Produced along with PhD dissertations, little is known about the characteristics of this material, in particular in social sciences and humanities and the impact on the role of academic libraries. Acknowledgment: With funding from MESHS, Lille (France).

A cartographic analysis of the correlation between document supply and citations in pharmacology: a case study from INIST in France (part 2)

Purpose: The article investigates the correlation between citations and the document supply of print serials. Approach: The study is based on data from INIST-CNRS for document supply requests and from ISI for citations from 89 serials with JCR impact factors in pharmacology. Data were collected from 1992 to 2004. Findings: The results distinguish four groups of serials with different relationships between document supply requests and citations. The characteristics of the serials of the four groups are described (year of creation, price, etc). The evolution of the correlation between document supply and citations is analysed. Originality: This is the second of three articles on a longitudinal study over 13 years on different aspects of the relationship between document supply and impact factor (citations) in pharmacology, a scientific domain with a high use of scientific information.

A French-German Survey of Electronic Theses and Dissertations: Access and Restrictions

As a French-German research team we conducted a survey with a sample of academic libraries and graduate schools in France and Germany to determine the current situation and trends in the publishing of electronic PhD theses and dissertations (ETDs) under Open Access (OA). The percentage of OA theses varies depending on the country, the research field, and the institution. Not all ETDs are available in OA for a variety of reasons, including confidentiality, embargoes, author-imposed restrictions, and a lack of encouragement and/or requirement by libraries and graduate schools. The survey reveals qualitative and structural differences between France and Germany in this area. Here we discuss the survey findings, the methodologies used in the survey, and the various policies (or lack thereof) and their impact on ETDs and OA. A strategy is outlined for moving towards ensuring that publishing ETDs under OA becomes routine, and an electronic version becomes the only manifestation of a thesis.

Degrees of Openness: Access Restrictions in Institutional Repositories

Institutional repositories, green road and backbone of the open access movement, contain a growing number of items that are metadata without full text, metadata with full text only for authorized users, and items that are under embargo or that are restricted to on-campus access. This paper provides a short overview of relevant literature and presents empirical results from a survey of 25 institutional repositories that contain more than 2 million items. The intention is to evaluate their degree of openness with specific attention to different categories of documents (journal articles, books and book chapters, conference communications, electronic theses and dissertations, reports, working papers) and thus to contribute to a better understanding of their features and dynamics. We address the underlying question of whether this lack of openness is temporary due to the transition from traditional scientific communication to open access infrastructures and services, or here to stay, as a basic feature of the new and complex cohabitation of institutional repositories and commercial publishing.

Relationships between consumption, publication and impact in French universities in a value perspective: a bibliometric analysis

The study aims to investigate the relationships between consumption of e-journals distributed by Elsevier ScienceDirect platform, publication (articles) and impact (citations) in a sample of 13 French universities, from 2003 to 2009. It adopts a value perspective as it questions whether or not publication activity and impact are some kind of return led by consumption. A bibliometric approach was used to explore the relations between these three variables. The analysis developed indicators inspired by the mathematical h-Index technique. Results show that the relation between consumption, publication and citations depends on the discipline’s profile, the intensity of research and the size of each institution. Moreover, although relations have been observed between the three variables, it is not possible to determine which variable comes first to explain the phenomena. The study concludes by showing strong correlations, which nevertheless do not lead to clear causal relations. The article provide practical implication for academic library managers who want to show the added value of their electronic e-journals collections can replicate the study approach. Also for policy makers who want to take into account e-journals usage as an informative tool to predict the importance of publication activity.

Archives institutionnelles : Observations sur un nouveau mode d'information scientifique / Institutional Repositories: Observations on a New Form of Scientific Information

Les archives institutionnelles sont devenues un vecteur significatif de la communication scientifique. Aujourd’hui, quatre archives ouvertes sur cinq sont des archives institutionnelles. L’une de leurs caractéristiques réside dans leur grande diversité. Il n’existe pas un modèle unique, mais une grande variété, pas une seule procédure mais de multiples options. Notre article décrit quatre modèles de base ou « archétypes » (plateforme de publication, container, site de patrimoine, dépôt), leurs facteurs de succès et quelques perspectives d’évolution. La légitimité des institutions, leurs choix stratégiques mais aussi, leurs infrastructures numériques impactent l’avenir de ces sites. S’ils tournent le dos aux communautés scientifiques, leur destin sera celui des catalogues et autres bases de données : utiles certes, mais pas indispensables.