ETDs Metadata Practices of Indian Institutes of Technology: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The main objectives of this study are to investigate the metadata practises employed by the Institutional Repositories (IR) of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in relation to Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). The first step involved an analysis of the websites of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to ascertain which of these institutions had established repositories within their organisation. Additionally, the study determines the repositories that were both publicly open and accessible. The analysis focused on repositories that are publicly available and accessible, and the resulting secondary data was systematically structured in tabular format. Subsequently, in order to ascertain the metadata practises adhered to by these repositories, primary data was gathered using a questionnaire. The findings indicate that a significant proportion (over 80%) of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have established their own institutional repositories. However, it is observed that only 48% of these repositories are available to the public, and they predominantly employ DSpace software for the purpose of managing digital information. The study additionally indicated that the Dublin Core™ Metadata Element Set (DCMES) is used for the purpose of describing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). The study used criteria of completeness, correctness, and consistency to study the quality of metadata in electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) records and identifies concerns. The study reveals that out of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), only four of them have Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) metadata that adhere to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. In general, the study emphasises the present condition of IITs IR in effectively managing their digital content ETDs in particular and proposes that the institute should prioritise the maintenance of metadata quality to guarantee the discoverability, accessibility, and interoperability of the digital information. The questionnaire was in general about IITs repositories, and the secondary data have been collected for metadata. Therefore, the major study has been done through secondary data observation.