A new study published in Learned Publishing examines the accessibility of master’s theses across all nine SEA-EU partner universities, comparing data from 2019 and 2023. Conducted by researchers from the University of Split, the study provides insights into the progress and ongoing challenges of making student research openly accessible.
Assessing Open Access Across the Alliance
Master’s theses are an important source of academic knowledge and original research. Making them openly accessible enables researchers, students and the wider public to discover and benefit from academic work.
The study examines the availability of master’s theses in institutional repositories across the nine SEA-EU universities, exploring differences in access policies and practices between institutions and academic disciplines.
The findings show that the proportion of master’s theses available in full open access decreased slightly, from 59% in 2019 to 56.2% in 2023. The study also identifies differences between academic fields, highlighting the need for tailored approaches to improving access to student research.
The researchers emphasise the importance of clearer copyright and licensing policies, improved institutional repositories, and greater awareness among students and supervisors of open access, research ethics and responsible dissemination practices.
Strengthening Open Science Within SEA-EU
By bringing together data from all nine partner universities, the study demonstrates the value of collaboration within the SEA-EU Alliance in identifying shared challenges and exploring opportunities for improvement.
The findings provide a basis for further cooperation between partner institutions and support ongoing efforts to promote more transparent, accessible and responsible research practices. They also highlight the importance of creating an environment in which academic knowledge can be shared more widely while respecting copyright, data protection and ethical standards.
This publication represents another contribution to strengthening the culture of open science across SEA-EU and advancing the Alliance’s commitment to research collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Read the full publication: Open Access to Master Theses: Follow-Up of Nine SEA-EU Alliance Universities, 2019–2023
