The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) has today launched the Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack, a new set of practical resources designed to help universities support the long-term accessibility and use of doctoral theses.
As theses become increasingly digital - and often include data, multimedia, code, and web-based content - ensuring they remain accessible and understandable over time presents new challenges. While universities are generally responsible for preserving theses, the way they are prepared and submitted can significantly affect access, use, and reuse in the future.
The new Resource Pack is intended to help staff involved in the PhD submission process understand the digital preservation challenges associated with e-theses and support students in addressing them. The pack includes practical guidance for staff, quick guides for students, including an introductory video, and supporting materials that can be integrated into existing doctoral training and support programs.
Still from the student-focused ‘Leila and Grace’ introductory video, one of the resources included in the Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack.
Speaking at today's #DPClinic session launching the Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack, Dorothy Waugh, DPC’s Head of Workforce Development, said: “Doctoral theses represent a significant investment of time, expertise, and original research. We hope these resources will help universities support students in taking practical steps that can improve the long-term accessibility and reuse of their work.”
Gareth Cole, Open Research Manager at the University of Exeter, and one of the project partners involved in the Open Book Futures project through which this resource was developed said:
"I am delighted to see the launch of these resources. Created by DPC staff as part of the Arcadia and Research England funded Open Book Futures project, they fill a gap in the training available to both PhD students and supervisors. With broad coverage but also an ease of use, they will provide an essential resource pack for researchers who want to help increase the long term use and accessibility of their thesis material. We are already working to embed this material into our training offering at the University of Exeter."
The new Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack is freely available to both DPC Members and the wider community via the DPC website.
The DPC is an international charitable foundation which supports digital preservation, helping its members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, tailored support and consultancy, and through good management and governance. Its vision is a secure digital legacy.
Click to:
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read the Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack
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watch the introductory video ‘Leila & Grace’
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learn more about Open Book Futures
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read about joining the DPC