Doctoral theses in Spain (1997-2008): Analyses, statistics and cooperative repositories

This paper discusses the state of production of doctoral theses in Spanish universities and their dissemination, in light of changes that occurred over the period 1997-2008. The transformation factors that had to be dealt with included the process of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the huge impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and the appearance of the Open Access movement designed to provide free access to scientific and scholarly literature. Following an exhaustive review of the existing studies on doctoral theses, this paper examines the statistics compiled by the National Statistics Institute (INE), EUROSTAT and other specialized sources. Some of the major databases and cooperative theses repositories at both the Spanish national and international level are described. Finally, the data are analysed and conclusions drawn on the ability of the Spanish academic system to disseminate knowledge via the training of new scientists.