Author's name:Pham Thi Dieu Linh
Thesis title:Policies for managing people's archives in Vietnam
The field of study for this dissertation:Archival StudiesCode:
Name of training institution:University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Hanoi
1. Purpose and scope of the thesis
This thesis aims at two main objectives:
- Identifying the main policy issues in managing people's archives in Vietnam.
- The proposal offers an initial solution to the policy problem.
To that end, the thesis focuses on the following main subjects:
- Current policies and laws regarding people's archives.
- Key policy issues that need to be addressed and necessary solutions that can be implemented in the near future.
2. Research methods used:
To collect data for the thesis's arguments and evidence, the author employed the following methods:
- Text synthesis: This method is used to synthesize, compare, and analyze the content of current policy and legal texts in people's archives to identify policy issues that have been and are being addressed, inadequacies and contradictions between policy documents, and anticipated potential risks arising from those inadequacies.
- Sociological investigation: Over 300 citizens and 40 archival management officials responded to surveys on topics related to the dissertation. The data collected from this survey was used to initially gather opinions from key stakeholders affected by the public document management policy, as a basis for developing policy solutions.
- Case studies: three in-depth case studies and several other cases were used as illustrative examples of trends and current status of archival document management among the public; these cases were investigated through the study of documents such as books, articles about the cases, memoirs of witnesses in the cases, direct observation of the cases, and personal interviews with the individuals involved.
- Group interviews through conferences and workshops, and in-depth individual interviews: Through conferences and workshops, some key issues of the thesis were presented to relevant stakeholders such as managers and researchers, leading to necessary discussions to bring diverse perspectives to the table, supplementing the data for the thesis's conclusions; in-depth interviews helped to clarify the views and approaches of owners and managers regarding the predictions to be presented in the thesis.
3. Main results and conclusions
3.1. Main results
Using the methods described above, the thesis has achieved the following basic results:
- To establish a basic theoretical framework regarding the concept and characteristics of people's archival documents;
- This demonstrates the lack of consistency, overlap, and coherence in current policies and laws regarding people's archives.
- Identify areas of consensus and disagreement among managers and owners of public archives.
- To develop several fundamental policy solutions, including both long-term and temporary ones, within the current policy environment of Vietnam, drawing on international experience.
3.2. Conclusion
Using the methods described above, the thesis has proven and explained the following issues:
- The key policy issue to address regarding people's archives is to harmonize the legal system with feasible solutions aimed at unifying objectives and sharing resources.
- The central solution of the policy for managing people's archives is to build a mechanism that allows various social components to participate in the management of people's archives while still ensuring the role of state archives in monitoring and managing documents of national significance.
SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS
The author's name:PHAM Thi Dieu Linh
Thesis title:Public policy of people archives and manuscripts in Vietnam
Scientific branch of the thesis:Archival studyCode:
The name of postgraduate training institution :University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Hanoi
1. The thesis purpose and objectives
The aims of thesis are:
- Specification of what should be solved when the State wants to preserve and serve people archives and manuscripts;
- Drafting some solutions for future policies
The thesis focuses on these objectives:
- Current public policies and laws on archives in Vietnam;
- What the policies should concentrate on and reasons why they should be
2. Research methods
- Documentary analysis;
- Surveys and interviews;
- Case opening
3. Major results and convolutions
3.1. Major results
- Specifying the concept “people archives” and characteristics of them;
- Identifying and proving all fundamental issues in the current public policies and laws on people archives;
- Discovering which ideas have been consensual and shared or not between people and offices;
- Drafting some solutions for future policies
3.2. Conclusions
- The main issues of policies stem from illogical and unrealistic issues in current policies and laws
- The central solution of those is establishing a legal frame that accepts contributions and actions of all social groups, including public and private sectors as inter-funtional institutions
