General information about ETD |
ETD was born from the need of the University of Pisa to manage the theses discussed at the University in an electronic archive.
It is compulsory uploading the old graduation theses, the specialist and master’s degree theses, the specialization and doctoral theses.
The upload of the doctoral theses in ETD dates back to 2007, while for the other degree theses it has been mandatory since 2012.
In previous years, the compulsory archiving of the theses was performed in paper form.
Instead, there is no obligation to deposit in ETD the final thesis of the three-year degree and final reports of master and specialization courses.
The theses uploaded in ETD constitute the only official version to which the University of Pisa will refer for the uses permitted by law (release of certified copies, etc).
ETD is implemented on the American model of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Some qualifying points of ETD:
- the project involves professors, undergraduates, the Library System of the University and the Student Secretariats, simplifying administrative and management procedures;
- undergraduates can upload their electronic thesis independently, using a help desk managed by a librarian staff;
- the electronic conservation of the theses contributes to decrease the space problems in the archives;
- the thesis metadata (author, title, keywords, abstract, etc.) are public and easily searchable by the search engines: ETD contributes to the dissemination of research information, to contacts with authors and professors.