If you are completing a research degree at UCLAN from September 2010 you will need to deposit an electronic copy with the UCLAN Research Repository – CLOK. From September 2010 until July 2011 you will be required to provide the usual 3 unbound copies (4 if you have a collaborator) as well as an electronic copy in pdf. format. The Library will stop storing and receiving hardcopy theses after July 2011.
There are three parts to the Repository record for each thesis deposited:
- information from the Thesis Submission Form (required)
- a pdf of the thesis (or appropriate file format if the thesis is not in a text format)– the eThesis (required)
- copies of supporting material, appendices, uncleared third-party copyrighted material, copies of permissions etc (not always required)
The information from the Thesis Submission Form will be used to describe the thesis when it is uploaded to the Research Repository. It will be visible to anyone searching the repository and also used by The British Library, Google and other search engines to discover your thesis. Therefore, to ensure your work is correctly cited and referenced this information needs to be complete and accurate.
The Thesis Submission Form also contains details of the licence under which the University is storing and making available the thesis on the Research Repository. It is important that you read and understand this information as submission of the form infers acceptance and it is the students responsibility to ensure that any statement or claim made is accurate and truthful.
The eThesis
The pdf of your thesis should be an exact representation of the printed copy. The easiest way to create the pdf file it is to use the ‘Save As PDF’ function in Microsoft Office Applications. If you have any problems please call the LIS Customer Support team on 01772 895355 or see www.uclan.ac.uk/lis/ and click 'Help'.
Your thesis will be made available by the Research Repository on an Open Access Archive basis. It will also be visible for other scholars to read freely over the web unless there is a reason that it should be hidden either permanently or for a specific length of time. Reasons for embargoes or moratoria include:
- Large quotes or sections of third party Copyright material. Exposure on the Research Repository is not covered by the Examination exception for Fair Use (CDPA1988 s.32).
- Impending or outstanding patent applications.
- Data protection or promises of confidentiality
- Publication contracts, Copyright Transfer Agreements or other legal restrictions
There is a field on the form where you can communicate any embargo requirements to the Graduate Research School Office (GRSO). It may be that an embargo is not necessary and less extreme solutions are available. For instance if large pieces on in-cleared text, data, images or musical notation are included in the body of the thesis, the Research Repository staff can help you apply for permissions or help you remove the infringing material to an embargoed appendix and/or insert hyperlinks to published versions elsewhere on the internet.
In the event of a request to view your thesis under the Freedom of Information Act the University will have to release the work, even if it embargoed, unless it is exempt for the following reasons:
- imminent publication of the work concerned
- release of the work will prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person
- the work includes information that was obtained under promise of confidentiality, or, is subject to Data Protection
If any of these apply you must include this information on the Thesis submission form, or any other reason why you think the work should not be distributed on the internet.
Supplementary Material
The supplementary material may or may not be visible on an Open Access Archive basis. The files may contain parts of the work that embargoed to allow the main eThesis to be published, or, in the case of musical compositions for instance, exerts could be made openly available while the main document containing the whole peice is embargoed to protect commercial interests. If you want to use this facility attach the files to the email as you want them to be uploaded and please indicate on the email to the GRSO which files are supplementary m,aterial and whether or not they should be Open Access.
Procedure
On completion of their award each student will email the following documents to the GRSO (researchdegrees@uclan.ac.uk):
- Thesis in pdf format, including title page, abstract, bibliography, notes
- Any supplementary documents ie permission letters, appendices, data, published pieces (any digital file format)
- A completed Thesis Submission Form
- A signed hardcopy of the complete Thesis submission form must be provided separately
Upon receipt of the above, the GRSO will:
- confirm that the work is eligible to be added to the Institutional Repository
- check if the thesis has a requirement to be held in confidence and the duration
- deposit the thesis on the Research Repository using the information on the Submission form
After deposit the Research Repository Staff will:
- confirm the pdf files and other material match the bibliographic information
- check any notes or queries regarding Copyright or other issues, including any embargoes
- check, briefly, that the thesis does not include obviously infringing content
Queries
For further information about the procedures and the implications for your research degree please contact the Graduate Research School Office at (researchdegrees@uclan.ac.uk) or Telephone 01772 894285 or the Research Repository Staff at clok@uclan.ac.ukclok@uclan.ac.uk, we are happy to help.
