Disciplinary differences in the online dissemination of doctoral theses: Evidence from France's theses.fr repository

This study investigates the online visibility of doctoral theses deposited in the French national repository theses.fr . We collected metadata and traffic statistics (views and downloads) for 99,743 manuscripts defended between 2010 and 2019, using a Python web scraper. Because the repository's coverage and uptake varied across disciplines and over time, we normalized traffic counts by year of defense and discipline. Results show marked differences: dissertations in law and education sciences achieved significantly higher visibility per manuscript, whereas those in computer science, physics, and biology attracted comparatively fewer readers. These differences were statistically significant and, when combined with an analysis of dissertation titles, suggest that topic accessibility to non-specialist audiences shapes dissemination. To interpret these findings, we apply Engeström's activity theory, modeling the contradictions doctoral graduates face between open dissemination and publishers' embargo or copyright constraints. For academic librarianship, our results underscore both the uneven disciplinary reach of Electronic Theses and Dissertations repositories and the structural dilemmas that influence graduate deposit practices. • Open Access impact varies across disciplines, influenced by field-specific cultures. • Law and education sciences theses receive significantly more downloads and views. • Hard sciences dominate in volume but show lower per-manuscript visibility. • Tension exists between repository dissemination and publisher restrictions. • Non-academic audiences are the most likely to drive visibility differences across scholarly fields.