Institutional repositories, Open Access and the doctoral students that pave the way : A qualitative study

Motivation is low for publishing and self-archiving in institutional repositories according to previous research, which is an issue since the repository’s full potential cannot be reached if it is void of materials. Doctoral students are the future of academia and ought to be given tools and information to be able to make informed decisions about where and how to publish. The purpose of this study is to shed light on possibilities and problems regarding self-archiving in institutional repositories by examining doctoral students at the University of Borås, focussing on their opinions of and experiences with the institutional repository DiVA as well as their perceived risks and benefits with self-archiving. Qualitative data were generated through five semi-structured interviews over videocalls. Respondents were doctoral students at the University of Borås with different levels of experience with publishing and self-archiving. The data was coded thematically and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Theories of constructivism and information literacy were applied to discuss the results. The respondents were generally knowledgeable concerning different levels of Open Access but seemed unsure of the purpose and function of DiVA. All self-archived because of the University’s policy, however not everyone recognized the personal benefits. This study concludes that research practices can be identified and problematized by acknowledging disciplinary differences in scholarly communication. Doctoral students are in a unique position to take the lead in forming research traditions that fit the new scientific landscape