Allot of what Im reading makes allot of sense. Thanks for all the feedback. I believe there is still some value in the thesis as an entity in itself. Even if its just to help other people in the same field realize what is already been done; so that they dont waste gov resources.
For example my research showed that a certain type of protein could not be expressed by a certain virus. It was a very expensive project (aprox. $20 000). But because the result was negative I could not publish the work. I then found out that there are other virologists trying the same thing all over the world, and all failing. This could all be prevented if my thesis was read.
@fuzzylogician: you say PhD theses are often read and cited in your field of linguistics; do you think that thesis content is more useful in fields where the main body of work is mainly encapsulated and disseminated in written work. Fields such as psychology, law, economics (as opposed to fields such as sciences where the aim is often centered around patents and products).
