Pakistan research repository: a showcase of theses and dissertations

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsan Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Rafiq

Purpose – The paper aims to describe the characteristics and purposes of Pakistan Research Repository (PRR). A quantitative analysis of this repository is carried out by analyzing the content of the repository. A critical analysis of the entire growth strategy, population and web interface is also included in this paper. This study also proposes certain measures to make it more effective and efficient for archiving the research output of a nation. The study was designed to investigate issues relating to PRR and outline steps to develop a strategy to overcome these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – This article focuses on quantitative aspects and critical analysis of PRR. A multi-tier research design was used to meet the objectives of the study. A web search was conducted, and information was drawn from documents available on the Web site of Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, PRR and directories of open-access repositories; data were complemented by quantitative and critical analysis of the content of the repository. Information was also gathered by literature-based review of project documents which were created for the implementation of this project. Findings – The paper has highlighted how far this repository has succeeded in bringing the research output from universities across Pakistan to the researcher community by analyzing the available content by institution, type, subject and year. This study has provided a valuable insight about the current status of PRR by identifying gaps in the content of the repository. The quantitative analysis of the repository shows that the creation of this repository was a landmark achievement, as it provided the opportunity to researchers, faculty and students for preserving, disseminating and furthering their existing knowledge at a national-level platform. Research limitations/implications – This research article is a case study and focuses on PRR only. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to throw light on other repositories in Pakistan and sharing of resources among institutional repositories in Pakistan. Practical implications – This study will be helpful for the administrative authorities of HEC and university faculty to plan for effective collection of content from the institutions and digitization of this content. The paper includes implications for the development of repositories at an institutional level in Pakistan. Social implications – This paper will help in managing PRR, and it will ultimately lead to enhance and better manage research output in Pakistan. Originality/value – This paper has identified the characteristics and purposes for creating a research repository at the national level and provided a critical view of policies and statistical view of the content of the repository.

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saroja Kumar Panda

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the progress and current status of Shodhganga: a reservoir Indian electronic theses. The paper further discusses the need and importance of a centrally maintained repository in the current age and the role and challenges of universities, libraries and researchers in development of institutional repositories at university levels. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from Shodhganga server/Web site followed by simple excel analysis which are presented in the paper in the form of tables and graphs. Findings – As on 30 June 2015, a total of 40,175 theses have been deposited in the repository by 217 universities. Jawaharlal Nehru University has submitted highest number of theses (4570, 11.37 per cent) followed by Anna University (2910, 7.24 per cent), Mahatma Gandhi University (2056, 5.12 per cent) and Bundelkhand University (1760, 4.38 per cent). Highest number of theses has been submitted from the state of Tamil Nadu. Numbers of theses and site visitors are gradually increasing (2010-2015). Originality/value – Shodhganga central repository of Indian electronic theses is an important step of Informational and Library Network Centre and University Grants Commission (UGC) in the Indian subcontinent. The paper recommends that besides UGC-recognised universities, other private/deemed universities, IITs, NITs and IISERs should also be welcomed for voluntarily deposit their theses in the Shodhganga central repository, and one of the fastest way to make progress is to let students upload their works directly.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026666692110154
Author(s):  
Usman Ahmed Adam ◽  
Kiran Kaur

Institutional repositories are powerful tools to facilitate global access to intellectual output by members of the institution, particularly in assisting them to preserve and maximize access to their research output globally. This exploratory study of the status of institutional repositories implementation in African countries using the global Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and Transparent Ranking: All Repositories by Google Scholar, reports on the operational status and the performance of repositories. Factor analysis and cluster analysis are used to analyze the operational level of institutional repositories in African countries. The analysis showed that the typical performance of institutional repositories remains below average. The possibility of global open access to research results through institutional repositories in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, and Egypt appeared to be relatively more feasible than other African countries. This study concludes that many organizations, institutions, and societies spend great efforts in support of open access implementation in Africa, however, the widespread implementation of institutional repositories is still very slow paced, and the performance of the implemented repositories was below expectation. Suggestions for regaining the intended direction of African institutional repositories are given based on the current status.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 730-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Abrizah ◽  
Mohd Hilmi ◽  
Norliya Ahmad Kassim

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to be concerned with the motivations and resistance among an institutional repository (IR) stakeholder – the Library and Information Science (LIS) academicians – with respect to Green Road open access publishing in an inter-institutional repository. Design/methodology/approach – The answers were identified from 47 LIS faculty from three library schools in Malaysia who reported awareness of what an IR is and having had experience in contributing resources to digital repositories. Data were collected using survey and interviews. Findings – The results highlighted the LIS faculty on their motivation to share their intellectual profile, research and teaching resources in an inter-institutional repositories and why the reluctance in contributing. The study reveals that the major motivation to share resources for those practicing self-archiving is related to performance expectancy, social influence, visible and authoritative advantage, career benefit and quality work. The major resistance to share scholarly research output through self-archiving in institutional repositories for those practicing self-archiving is concern on plagiarism, time and effort, technical infrastructure, lack of self-efficacy and insularity. Practical implications – Knowing what conditions predict motivation and resistance to contribute to IRs would allow IR administrators to ensure greater and more effective participation in resource-sharing among LIS academic community. If this resistance is addressed aptly, IRs can be of real benefit to their teaching, scholarship, collaborations, and publishing and to the community that they serve. Originality/value – The first study that has explored the ways LIS academics respond to a situation where knowledge sharing in academe has now been made mandatory through an IR and what makes them resist to do so.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elio Pérez Calle

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyse the current status of the Chinese research and development (R&D) system in a global environment, compared to those of other nations. Design/methodology/approach – Extracting meaningful information from organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) (research intensity), Thomson Reuters (research output), UNESCO and cross-border education research team (C-BERT) (mobility) databases and analysing de facto international standards such as university rankings, the Chinese system is compared to those of other scientific powers (the world top expenders in R&D such as the USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and some European nations), both using absolute production values and those relative to the productivity of the R&D workforce, so a general view of such a system is offered to complement previous analyses. Findings – A rather utilitarian approach to R&D policy, linked to economic growth, with a strong role of a Government-backed industry and based on applied R&D rather than on basic science, is found. The emergence of China as a scientific power relies heavily on a small number of institutions and efficiency becomes the priority, as confirmed by the growing presence of Chinese universities in university rankings – which is linked to some internationalisation efforts – and by the quantitative analysis of science and technology macro-indicators. Nevertheless, those results still remain modest when the overall size of the Chinese R&D system is considered. Originality/value – A general view of the Chinese system is offered in this study by combining both the analysis of the inputs of the Chinese R&D (in a internationally comparable way) system and outputs (up to international standards).


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emidia Vagnoni ◽  
Caterina Cavicchi

Purpose – This paper aims to outline the current status of the implementation of sustainability practices in the context of Italian public universities, highlighting the strengths and gaps. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a qualitative approach, an exploratory study design has been outlined using the model of Glavič and Lukman (2007) focusing on the Deming Cycle. The Plan–Do–Check–Act components of the model were used as a framework for collecting and analyzing data from the official Web sites and other related Web pages of Italian universities. Findings – The results of this exploratory study allow one to depict a university system addressing the challenge posed by international agendas in a fragmented way, even if many universities are showing a strong commitment to the sustainability challenge. Sustainability is mainly detected at the “Do” dimension, when referring to training programs and research projects associated to the sustainability issue. Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the data collection method are addressed when the timeliness of update of Web sources and the different emphases that universities can put on Internet disclosure are considered. However, the study contributes to the debate on sustainability by providing findings at a national level, which were derived from the official Web sites of Italian public universities. Furthermore, the study could have implications for policy makers and universities’ decision makers. Practical implications – The study points out the importance of managing the sustainability process in all its phases (planning, activities, monitoring, further actions), and highlights the elements that are relevant for measuring and monitoring the process of implementation of sustainability in the specific context of higher education. Social implications – The paper can contribute to increase the academics’ awareness of the sustainability actions, and stimulate them to fill the gaps. Originality/value – This study explores sustainability issue in the Italian university system, and it is based on a Web-based method of data collection, whereas other contributions are based on case studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polona Vilar ◽  
Vlasta Zabukovec

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences between scientific disciplines (SDs) in Slovenia in research data literacy (RDL) and research data management (RDM) to form recommendations regarding how to move things forward on the institutional and national level.Design/methodology/approachPurposive sample of active researchers was used from widest possible range of SD. Data were collected from April 21 to August 7, 2017, using 24-question online survey (5 demographic, 19 content questions (single/multiple choice and Likert scale type). Bivariate (ANOVA) and multivariate methods (clustering) were used.FindingsThe authors identified three perception-related and four behavior-related connections; this gave three clusters per area. First, perceptions – skeptical group, mainly social (SocS) and natural sciences (NatS): no clear RDM and ethical issues standpoints, do not agree that every university needs a data management plan (DMP). Careful group, again including mainly SocS and NatS: RDM is problematic and linked to ethical dilemmas, positive toward institutional DMPs. Convinced group, mainly from humanities (HUM), NatS, engineering (ENG) and medicine and health sciences (MedHeS): no problems regarding RDM, agrees this is an ethical question, is positive toward institutional DMP’s. Second, behaviors – sparse group, mainly from MedHeS, NatS and HUM, some agricultural scientists (AgS), and some SocS and ENG: do not tag data sets with metadata, do not use file-naming conventions/standards. Frequent group – many ENG, SocS, moderate numbers of NatS, very few AgS and only a few MedHeS and HUM: often use file-naming conventions/standards, version-control systems, have experience with public-domain data, are reluctant to use metadata with their RD. Slender group, mainly from AgS and NatS, moderate numbers of ENG, SocS and HUM, but no MedHeS: often use public-domain data, other three activities are rare.Research limitations/implicationsResearch could be expanded to a wider population, include other stakeholders and use qualitative methods.Practical implicationsResults are useful for international comparisons but also give foundations and recommendations on institutional and national RDM and RDL policies, implementations, and how to bring academic libraries into the picture. Identified differences suggest that different educational, awareness-raising and participatory approaches are needed for each group.Originality/valueThe findings offer valuable insight into RDM and RDL of Slovenian scientists, which have not yet been investigated in Slovenia.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Ogugua Onyebinama ◽  
Chinwe Veronica Anunobi ◽  
Uzochukwu Anelechi Ubaferem Onyebinama

Purpose This paper aims to determine and analyze the rate of content submission by lecturers in relation to type of university, discipline, academic qualification, rank and teaching experience and identified the determinants of research output submission by faculty members in Nigerian varsities. Design/methodology/approach The survey was conducted in six universities with functional institutional repositories in Southern Nigeria. Data collated through questionnaire from the university lecturers were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentages and regression analysis. Findings Results showed that submission of research output was higher for lecturers in Social Sciences than for those in the Sciences; the highest among those with doctorate degree, senior lecturers and those with 6–10 years of teaching experience. The rank of faculty members and the type of university were significant determinants of research output submission. Research limitations/implications The survey was limited to universities in Southern Nigeria with functional institutional repositories. There should be further investigations on same study in universities with functional institutional repositories in other regions in Nigeria. Practical implications Increased submission rate by faculty members will sustain the institutional repositories. Social implications Faculty members get in contact, make friends and engage in collaborative research. Originality/value This report contributes to the global knowledge and communication’s field through the provision of empirical evidence on the determinants of content submission in open access institutional repositories.


2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 46-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anabel Bonilla-Calero

Purpose – The aim of this study is to analyse the advantages of using an institutional repository (IR) as a complementary source to evaluate the research output produced by a university. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on previous studies where IRs have been used as source to analyse the research output. Findings – Some advantages of using repositories as a tool to evaluate research output are: they help to evaluate the research output from different perspectives, using multidimensional approaches that combine various factors and types of documents with free access to all researchers, evaluators and society in general. Practical implications – The paper is aimed at researchers and experts that use Web of Knowledge and Scopus services to evaluate the research output. It recommends that they consider using IRs as an additional, practical and complementary tool to traditional databases. Originality/value – To underline the advantages of using an IR as a complementary source in the evaluation of research outputs; this evaluative approach is not sufficiently appreciated in comparison with the role of traditional (non-open access) databases. Adopting this original approach would be a significant enhancement to current research evaluation practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Ramdas Lihitkar ◽  
R.S. Lihitkar

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to know the institutions who are developing electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) in India, and to compare the ETDs in India based on a predetermined parameter. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used for this research paper was a descriptive method. The institutional web sites were browsed and searched to collect the data. A relevant literature review was also carried out to describe the current status and other relevant information. Findings – Institutional repositories are a concept gaining movement today. India is moving ahead in this direction and major education and research institutes have already created their own institutional repositories. In analysis and findings, a detailed report of the analysis of data collection and its subsequent interpretations are given. Practical implications – If anybody would like to develop ETDs they can this overview of all the previous developed ETDs in India. It will be helpful for planning, developing and implementing new ETDs. Originality/value – This type of research study has not made till now. It is very important to study current and different types of ETD projects in India and its status. The study of special subject repositories is important for the students, scholars and researchers as well as for the LIS professionals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunsong Yang ◽  
Yunzhu Lin ◽  
Li Zhao ◽  
Lingli Zhang

Abstract Background: We sought to analyze the current situation of personnel training and scientific research regarding pharmacy intravenous admixture services (PIVAS), to provide evidence-based medical knowledge to inform personnel training for PIVAS in mainland China.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used to examine the current status of PIVAS personnel training, research capabilities, needs, and research output of PIVAS personnel based from the perspective of leaders in PIVAS in China. The survey period was from March to April 2019.Results: A total of 137 hospitals in China participated in this survey. The main training content areas of PIVAS staff in each hospital were professional theoretical knowledge (100.00%, 137/137) and practical operation ability (98.54%, 135/137). The frequency of training was typically 1–2 times/month (56.9%, 78/137). The average duration of a single training session was typically 1 hour or less (68.6%, 94/137). The most common forms of PIVAS training were lectures (94.89%, 130/137) and practical operations (79.56%, 109/137). A total of 51.8% (71/137) of PIVAS leaders believed that PIVAS personnel had a high degree of scientific research needs, but 61.3% (84/137) believed that few personnel had mastered scientific research methodology, and 41.6% (57/137) believed that the scientific research ability of personnel was relatively poor. Among PIVAS personnel, only 38.7% (53/137) had specialized scientific training. The annual SCI output was 0–18 articles (median 0 articles) and the number of national-level funding grants was 0–2 (median 0). There were no significant differences in the training of PIVAS personnel and scientific research between different provinces and hospital levels.Conclusions: The training content of PIVAS personnel in China was found to be relatively rich, but management tools, career development, and training in scientific research were found to be relatively weak, and the scientific research output was very low. It is necessary to build a comprehensive training system for career development among PIVAS personnel.


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