Mapping the UK thesis landscape: Phase 1 project report for Unlocking Thesis Data

This report details the work of the first phase (April-July 2015) of Unlocking Thesis Data, where the project carried out a survey of EThOS institutions, interviewed staff at six universities for more in-depth case studies, and synthesised the findings. Overall, there is much appetite for applying DOIs to theses and their data (which includes datasets, software components and other non-textual supplementary files) and ORCiDs to research students. Glasgow, Southampton and East London universities each minted a DOI for an existing thesis, demonstrating the viability of our intent, but the case studies showed there are constraints in both processes and technologies to be addressed before persistent identifiers (PID) for theses can be a nationwide reality in the UK.
The project makes five recommendations for further work in a second phase:
1. Hold at least three thesis “clinics” to investigate opportunities and barriers to assigning DOI and ORCiD identifiers in UK universities
2. Engage with system suppliers/vendors to identify opportunities for enhancing software with required PIDs
3. Consult with EThOS formally to understand what needs to change in EThOS systems and processes to harvest and display PIDs and related metadata for theses and their data
4. Evaluate approaches to updating UKETD profile, initially in EPrints, before planning software enhancements
5. Investigate requirements and solutions for those institutions that use EThOS as their first-point repository.