Graduate theses, dissertations to appear online

by Yvette Thomas
FOR THE POST

Ohio University graduate students’ theses and dissertations, formerly only available in paper form, will begin appearing online probably within the next year.

OU’s Graduate Council approved a program that will allow students to publish their work online. The first phase of the program will be a test period. In the second phase, students will submit their work voluntarily to be placed online.

Theses will be available via OhioLink, an online collaboration of Ohio college and university publications.

At first, students expressed concerns about people possibly copying their work. But that is no longer the case, said Larisa Zalenskaya, president of Graduate Student Senate.

"Because it is so flexible, the students are not worried," Zelenskaya said.

She said OU met with other universities to plan the project. At some universities, the system required students to submit their work and left them with no other option, she said.

Virginia Tech began storing electronic theses and dissertations in 1996. The school made submission of these mandatory in 1997, according to the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Committee report.

Increasing the availability of the theses is the primary reason for starting the program, said Gary Schumacher, associate provost for graduate studies.

"When in paper, the number of people who have access to the theses is limited," he said.

An electronic version would make the theses more accessible, Schumacher said.

The Electronic Theses and Dissertations Committee report also cites increased international exposure for OU as a reason for starting the program.

"Since everything else is going online, it makes sense," said Jim Nealon, a graduate student studying linguistics.

But Mariella Arredondo, another student studying linguistics, said she is concerned about the unregulated Internet. It also worries her that those theses and dissertations can’t be copyrighted online.

She said she would like to see the theses online if there were more laws that regulate the Internet.

Joe Bernt, OU journalism professor and a member of the committee to establish the online theses, said the university did not want to do anything that would hurt a thesis' or dissertation’s chance of being published as a book or in a journal.

Because of that concern, the program contains a provision suppressing public access. This only would allow OU students, faculty and staff to access the documents online. Because only people in the university will have access to the documents, the thesis or dissertation will not be considered published and can be republished as a book or journal, Bernt said.

Information regarding the program will be distributed through the different departments and possibly through e-mail, Schumacher said.