Wrangling Horses and Herding Cats: ETDs and Other Terminal Projects (OTPs)

Abstract

The nature of graduate student works has evolved in response to technological and academic changes. At the University of Florida, the Libraries work closely with the Graduate School to make terminal works available through the Institutional Repository (IR@UF). This presentation discusses the Libraries decision to establish Terminal Projects (TPs) as a category used to encompass traditional electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) and other terminal projects (OTPs) that are required to complete a graduate degree at UF. To open discussion, I will compare and contrast UF's Graduate School output with graduate TPs from other colleges, schools, and departments. I will cover some structural factors at UF that led to the need for a super-category, encompassing ETDs and other projects at UF required to complete a graduate degree. Records analysis will test the hypothesis that the ratio of OTPs to TPs is growing. I will cover the challenges of looking for stats on a subject not built into any of the available data sources: our main catalog, metadata from the IR@UF, email, production folders, and a Microsoft Access tracking database. The rest of the discussion covers the current effort to standardize and streamline intake and tracking of OTPs. The tracking database grew from work on an Excel template intended to gather tracking data from the degree granting units (DGUs). This work inspired a new goal: working with DGUs to identify keywords or notes that would support global searches for their students' works. Adding such consistent terms can enable us to import data into the bibliographic records created by our cataloging unit, and export the same information to include in the tracking sy]stem. Having data points like author names, titles, degrees, and DGUs in the tracking system will enable smoother, more personalized support for authors and DGU staff.