Thesis Reveal: The benefits and impact of Open Access

Are you a graduate researcher considering publishing your thesis on open access? This particular Masters Research thesis might help make up your mind.

The thesis, ‘The challenges of teaching physical education: juxtaposing the experiences of physical education teachers in Kenya and Victoria (Australia)’ is our most downloaded open access thesis in Minerva Access (University of Melbourne’s Institutional Repository). The thesis compares the experiences of Kenyan and Victorian secondary school Physical Education teachers.

Since the thesis was placed on open access in 2011, it has been downloaded 54,444 times across multiple different countries including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya and Australia. By publishing this thesis on open access, the author, Michael N. Wanyama has gained significant exposure for his work and reached a broad audience. Historically a print thesis sitting on a library shelf may have only been viewed by a handful of people.

If you are making this decision, you can consider the long-term benefits and impact your thesis might have by publishing on open access.

Learn more about this amazing thesis, or about the basics and benefits of Open Access. The University of Melbourne Copyright office also has helpful information regarding making your thesis open access. Happy researching and subscribe to Researcher@Library blog for more tips and resources to assist your research!