Perspectives on SwePub : A Survey of the Views of Swedish Universities Regarding SwePub as a Tool for Analysis

This thesis has examined a selection of Swedish universities’ views on the Swedish national publication database SwePub. The study has phenomenography as its methodology, and by means of the survey it has asked questions about the universities’ local publication databases, the national guidelines on documenting a scientific publication and how the universities regard the whole SwePub analysis project. The purpose was to find out how the universities perceive the whole SwePub phenomenon. For selecting participants in the survey, the selection criteria were size of the university, the subjects offered there and the publishing system used. Regarding the local publication databases, the answers have focused on the difficulties and opportunities with the registration of scientific work using the own publications database. In the section on guidelines, I discuss how the universities relate to two documents on SwePub guidelines and recommendations. The analysis deals with the national guidelines related to the local practice of the universities, where national guidelines may sometimes collide with the institution's own needs and wishes. The section of the analysis that deals with the institutions' views on the SwePub analysis project at large, relates the SwePub project to the terms function and relevance. In conclusion, I discuss to what extent I have found some patterns in the answers, linked to my selection criteria for the size of the university, subject area and type of publishing system