ProQuest%20Dissertations%20

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ProQuest Dissertations Theses User
Survey Dissertation Information Seeking Behavior
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The Survey
Purpose Learn Fundamental Information about WHO, WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHERE of accessing and using the PQDT database
Number of Participants 3034
Survey Instrument Mostly structured single response questions two multi-element questions (1-10 scale) two open-ended questions
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About PQDT
ProQuest Dissertations Theses Database

• 1743 to current
• North America UK, China (2010), and Beyond!
• 2.7 million citations
• 1.2 million full-text PDFs
• Full-text Searching (2009, 2008 back file)
• Reference Linking (2009, 2008 back file)

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PQDT USER SUMMARY
Over three quarters (76) of PQDT users are
students. Nearly half (45) are graduate
students, and a third (31) undergraduates. Post
docs and faculty (10), researchers (6) and
librarians (7) are occasional users.
BASE N 2535 (ALL) 1164 (33) REVIEW THESES
525 (21) FREQUENT USERS
Q Are you a(n) Undergraduate graduate
student etc.
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Current Educational Status
Nearly half (46) of those accessing PQDT are
either working on their masters theses (13) or
studying for their doctorate (33). A majority
of users are thus working neither on masters
theses nor doctorates they are either already
qualified as PhDs or are undergraduates.
PQDT USERS INVOLVED IN MASTERS OR DOCTORAL
PROGRAMS
BASE N 2793 (PhD) 2862 (Masters)
Q Are you studying for/working on/already
completed masters/PhD?
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Survey Participation
Just under half (48) of those who accessed PQDT
during the survey viewed full-text doctoral
dissertations or masters theses. About a fifth
(22) had already accessed the database at least
five times in the previous month.
PQDT USER SURVEY PARTICIPATION
BASE N 2889 (ALL) NOTE CHART NOT ADDITIVE
Q Are you a(n) Undergraduate graduate student
etc.?
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Subject Areas
Social sciences (the subject area of concern to
24 of those accessing PQDT), business (22) and
education (18) are the leading disciplines among
PQDT users accounting for nearly two thirds of
all users.
PQDT USER SUBJECT AREAS
The mix of subject areas associated with using
PQDT is consistent among all constituencies. One
exception is that undergraduates are much less
likely (10) to be involved in educational topics.
BASE N 2720
Q Which of the following subject areas best
describes the topic you are researching today?
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Access
Two thirds (65) of those accessing PQDT do so on
their own initiative.
SEARCH INITIATION INFLUENCE
Undergraduates are more likely than others to
have had their PQDT search suggested to them by
faculty.
BASE N 2296
Q Did you access PQDT on your own initiative or
was it suggested to you by someone else?
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Nature of Search
Nearly half (47) of PQDT users are focused,
directing their searches specifically at
dissertations. Most undergraduates (71) are
much more likely than others to be conducting
general searches that happened to include
dissertations.
NATURE OF SEARCH/ACCESS
BASE N 2262 608
605 1074 233
Q Was this search of dissertations databases
.. more general that .. Included dissertations?
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Aspects of Search
PQDT searches are most often (76) conducted in
relation to a specific topic associated with
academic studies. Over half (55) of searches are
part of a more general literature review. Nearly
half (46) of all accesses are specifically
seeking dissertations or specific titles (45).
APPLICABLE ASPECTS OF THIS SEARCH
The two leading reasons for accessing PQDT
(specific topics and literature search) apply to
all constituencies
BASE N 2090 NOTE STATEMENTS ABBREVIATED IN
EXHIBIT
Q Did any of the following statements apply to
this particular search/access?
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Access to Datasets
A majority (55) of PQDT users would prefer
access to datasets underlying theses and
dissertations.
INCIDENCE OF PREFERRING ACCESS TO DATASET
BASE N 1939 626
487 958 196
Q Would you prefer to be able to access the
dataset underlying dissertations?
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Importance of Library Websites
It is obvious that PQDT users accord substantial
influence and importance to their library
websites in accessing this database and the
ProQuest platform generally.
Influence of library websites in accessing PQDT
or the ProQuest platform
BASE N 1931 625
484 958 196
Q What if any was the influence of your grad
school/college library website on .. accessing
PQDT?
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PQDT from the Czech userspoint of view
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PQDT usage in CZ

• NO current subscription to ProQuest Dissertations
  Theses Database in CZ
• BUT fragmentary subfiles available as parts of
  ABI/INFORM and ProQuest Medical Library thus
  available widely within
• ProQuest 5000 International
• ProQuest Central
• in total approx. 30 000 fulltext dissertations
  from PQDT available in CZ

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PQDT usage in CZ

• PQDT Fulltext Downloads (Jan-Sept 2009)

Standard PQDT download price 60
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PQDT usage in CZ

• Hypothetical amount of fulltext downloads (1,2
  milllion dissertations instead of 30 000)

Standard PQDT download price 60
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PQDT usage in CZ

• Alternative view
• PQDT
• collection of 1,2 million ebooks

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Thanks for your attention!!
Vladimír Karen Albertina icome Praha
s.r.o. vladimir.karen_at_aip.cz www.aip.cz Amanda
Ross ProQuest Publishing amanda.ross_at_proquest.com
www.proquest.co.uk