Open access to theses, dissertations, and their proposals in Iran: A survey of graduate students’ perspectives

Since 2016, under regulations issued by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, metadata for theses, dissertations, and their proposals (TDPs) in Iran’s National Thesis, Dissertation and Proposal Registration System (NTDPRS) have been immediately open access, with full texts released after designated embargo periods. This study investigates Iranian graduate students’ perspectives on these open access policies and practices. Using a survey method, data were collected from 449 graduate students registered in NTDPRS via an online questionnaire. Nonparametric binomial tests were used to evaluate Likert-scale items and dichotomous (yes/no) preferences to identify statistically significant support for various open access components. More than half of the respondents supported enhancing open access (OA) to metadata and full texts of TDPs. They particularly supported OA to metadata in English, international dissemination of full texts via global repositories, and immediate access to full texts after registration. As the first study of Iranian graduate students’ perspectives toward OA to TDPs, the findings apply to improving related systems and policies in Iran. Its findings offer novel insights for refining national repository systems and policy frameworks, contributing to open science development in the Global South.