Internet Archaeol. 6. Costopoulos. The Electronic Dissertation

The Electronic Dissertation: A less radical approach

Introduction

In Issue 6 of Internet Archaeology, Cornelius Holtorf (1999) introduces us to the electronic dissertation, its production and submission. The electronic dissertation is likely to become an important part of the academic landscape in future years, in archaeology and the academic world in general. Holtorf's narrative of the process which culminated in his viva may leave the reader with the impression that the change from a paper-based academic culture to more fluid electronic publication practices may prove to be slow and painful.

I also recently submitted a dissertation on electronic medium (Costopoulos 1999), but the processes Holtorf and I had to endure are very different and have divergent implications for the future of academic publication. Our motivations were different, as were our strategies and outlooks. I believe it may be profitable to present a comparison of our contrasting experiences.