Positioning ETDs in the eResearch arena : a South African case study

Abstract

eResearch, extensive use of ICT to do research in completely new ways and to create knowledge environments with the capacity for unprecedented global collaboration is fast becoming one of the prominent paradigms of the 21st century. It will have a lasting impact on the way research is conducted and funded and how results find their way in scholarly communication. National projects are underway in different countries of the world to create the necessary infrastructure to give their researchers a fair chance to compete in this arena. The paper will report on the South African SARIS project and its recommendations for an e-Research Support Service for South Africa (eRS3A) indicating the way forward for a developing country in this new dispensation. It will also pose a couple of questions about the future embedding of etd programmes in the e-research enterprise.