Research Discussions

Advantages of writing dissertations digitally

Imagine if you had the liberty to write your entire dissertation digitally and submit it online itself? Wouldn’t it give you a lot more scope to include interactive material as well as save you from the trouble of printing and binding multiple copies for submission? This wonderful thought is now turning into a reality. Though the concept of digital dissertation is comparatively new, it is quickly catching up as a number of students and professors are agreeing to the multiple benefits of digital dissertations.

The advantages of writing your dissertations digitally:

Storage: Most universities will agree, storage space is a major problem when it comes to dissertations. Since every student who graduates submits at least two copies of a dissertation, storing all of these requires a large amount of space in the library. Also, many libraries do not allow dissertations to be taken out of library premises. So students have to sit in the library itself to read and study previous dissertations. This process is quite tedious and time consuming and therefore, many dissertations don’t even get read. They only occupy shelf space and attract dust in libraries. On the contrary, a digital dissertation requires only cloud space, and that too, an insignificant amount. It can be read anywhere and at any time, without any hassles.

Accessible: Digital dissertations are easily accessible. Students can read it as per their convenience, at home, college or outside. Also, with technological advances, every student carries a mobile or a tablet. They can also read dissertations on the go. Thus, your work can help other students across the globe.

Distribution: When your dissertation is published online, your audience is countless. Be it students, scholars, friends and family or prospective employers, everyone has access to your dissertation at just a few clicks. The number of readers increase, thus helping you spread your knowledge and expertise to other people around the world. If your research gives answers to some mass problems, it will be great to make it reachable to a mass audience. After all, what better reward to all your writing efforts than having it help people who really need it.

Use of technology: In a digital dissertation, you can also use interactive media like audio and video, spreadsheets, hypertext, etc. to further explain your points. The interactivity and colourful diagrams will keep the reader interested. Also, you can link your bibliography to websites so that people who are interested in further studying the topic, can access it easily.

Environment friendly: By writing your dissertation digitally, you save on a lot of paper, thus saving this precious environment we live in.

The traditional vs. new media for writing and submitting dissertations