STI PRODUCT TYPE FACTSHEET FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AWARDEES/GRANTEES:

Thesis or Dissertation

ABOUT STI

In the course of performing research and development (R&D) and other scientific and technological work, researchers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) produce scientific and technical information (STI) to document and disseminate their findings.

STI includes products such as journal articles, technical reports, conference presentations, books, and more. Through the Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP), the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) collaborates with people across the DOE complex, including Headquarters programs, field offices, national laboratories, and other facilities. The STIP partnership ensures that the results of DOE-funded work are identified, disseminated, and preserved. Thus, OSTI collects STI produced across the DOE laboratory and facility complex as well as from financial assistance recipients.

DEFINITION

A thesis or dissertation is an academic paper often based on original research, using scholarly resources, which is written by a candidate as a graduate school requirement for a higher academic degree (a master’s or doctoral degree) or professional qualification. Dissertations and theses may be considered “gray literature” since they are not typically published commercially. In cases where the author’s research was funded by DOE or conducted at a DOE facility, submission to OSTI as a scientific and technical information (STI) product facilitates access to federally funded research results.

SUBMISSIONS

The thesis or dissertation should be submitted to DOE through the DOE E-Link System (https://www.osti.gov/elink/), per instructions provided in the award package, which may refer to this as “Other STI,” as specified on the Federal Assistance Reporting Requirements Checklist (DOE F 4600.2) at the time of award. Using E-Link, the required metadata for the thesis or dissertation and the full-text document is uploaded in searchable PDF format, if it is publicly accessible. If the STI product is copyrighted by a commercial publisher, then metadata only may be submitted, providing the source of availability. Questions related to E-Link may also be sent to elink_Helpdesk@osti.gov.

STI AVAILABILITY

OSTI.GOV is the primary search tool for DOE science, technology, and engineering research and development results and the organizational hub for information about the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information. OSTI.GOV makes discoverable over 70 years of research results from DOE and its predecessor agencies. Research results include journal articles/accepted manuscripts and related metadata; technical reports; scientific research datasets and collections; scientific software; patents; conference and workshop papers; books and theses; and multimedia. OSTI.GOV provides access to this DOE STI by offering numerous easy-to-use search capabilities and customization options; and for the DOE community, additional citation information is available to help researchers evaluate article impact and find related research.

OSTI.GOV is included in the Federal science portal Science.gov. Hosted by OSTI, Science.gov offers free access to research and development (R&D) results and scientific and technical information from more than 60 databases from scientific organizations across 13 federal agencies.

OSTI also works in close collaboration with Google and others, using Sitemap Protocols and other information industry standards to facilitate the discovery of DOE STI through widely used search engines.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/CONTACTS

The STIP website at https://www.osti.gov/stip/

OSTI staff will respond to questions/suggestions sent to stip@osti.gov

Questions related to E-Link may also be sent to elink_Helpdesk@osti.gov