About:
- What is an ETD?
ETDs (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation) are an electronic version of a thesis or dissertation. These documents are similar to the paper copies but are readily available (as designated by the student) to the world via the World Wide Web. They can be prepared using almost any word processing program and converted into a pdf format. They also have the ability to incorporate multimedia elements. ETDs eliminate the need for multiple paper copies and are less expensive.
- What are my choices for allowing access to my thesis/dissertation?
- The author specifies the level of access they wish to grant to their work by selecting one of the options below when completing the Approval Form.
- Open Access: This allows immediate, free, worldwide access to the entire work and is the option recommended by USU.
- Delayed Release: This delays the release of the full text of the work for one year for proprietary reasons. A citation and abstract of the thesis/dissertation will be publically available, but the work itself will not. After one year the work is automatically added to the “Open Access” option listed above and becomes freely available. To extend the delay at the conclusion of this year contact the Digital Library at (435)797-2650/2623 or USUDigital@library.lib.usu.edu.
- Secure Access: This option, generally selected when patents are pending, blocks all information about your thesis or dissertation for one year. At the end of the year, the work can be made freely available, or if needed, the restriction can be extended for an additional year. To extend this secure access beyond the one year contact the Digital Library at (435)797-2650/2623 or USUDigital@library.lib.usu.edu.
- What are the benefits of ETD’s?
1. Availability-Research is available to a wider audience. Scholars, colleagues, and potential employers across the world have access to your work. Electronic access greatly increases the number of times works are viewed and read. A thesis or dissertation is now accessible via various sites:
- ETD website at USU
- USU Library Catalog
- Search engine like Google
- Proquest Digital Dissertations & Thesis Database
- Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
2. Multimedia Integration-Without the restriction of paper versions, authors can enhance their works with the inclusion of multimedia.
3. Improves Library Service-Electronic submissions allow faster and more economical recording and archiving of USU theses and dissertations.