Since the beginning of their development, institutional repositories have had an important role in the promotion of the open access to scientific works and to the productivity of institutions and scientists. In Croatia, systematic development of repositories begins with the development of the national e-infrastructure, and with the development of the DABAR (Digital Academic Archives and Repositories). Since 2014, as a part of the DABAR, a collaborative ETD system (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) of the Republic of Croatia has been developed.
In June 2017, 113 institutional repositories (including 8 university and 2 national repositories) were established in the DABAR. Currently, it is possible to submit students’ theses (undergraduate, professional, and masters’ theses), dissertations, art theses, images (photographs), preprint papers and reviewed articles. More than 37,500 digital objects have been stored, most of which are students’ B.A. and M.A. theses and dissertations.
This poster presentation will focus on visibility and availability of the theses stored in DABAR repositories (open, closed, restricted and embargo access). The obtained results will then be compared with the previously conducted research about readiness of Croatian public and private higher education institutions for storage and publication of theses within the DABAR. The research, conducted in 2016, included the analysis of the online available documentation of higher education institutions on academic and scientific integrity (ethical and antiplagiarism statements), as well as statements of consent for public release of theses.
The results of the mentioned researches aim to determine, at the level of higher education institutions, whether the Croatian academic community supports open access to its theses, whether institutions respect authors’ rights, and how they are harmonized when it comes to the legal obligation of public release.
Ivana Čadovska
Ivona Milovanović