Newcastle University

Below are some brief answers to common questions regarding the e-theses service. There is much more information about the whole project and what you need to do on the Library RESIN pages

Can I upload my Masters thesis/Undergraduate thesis?
Currently the e-theses collection is concentrating on the digitisation of PhD thesis. This may change in the future.

How do I upload my work to the e-theses database?
Currently there is no facility for you to upload your work yourself. Library staff will upload your work, and in addition you need to sign a licence for deposit. However, the process is very straightforward. If you would like to include your thesis in the database, please e-mail lib-e-theses@ncl.ac.uk

My Newcastle PhD thesis is quite old, can I still include it in the collection?
As long as you have an electronic copy of your work we will do our best to upload to our collection. Please e-mail lib-e-theses@ncl.ac.uk and we can arrange for the necessary deposit licences to be sent out to you.

I am submitting my PhD shortly. What do I need to do?
From last academic year (2009/10) all PhD students were strongly encouraged to deposit an electronic version of their final examined thesis, as well as two printed copies. All you need to do is hand in an electronic version of your thesis on CD/DVD/USB drive at the same time as you deposit the printed version. You will also need to read and sign a thesis deposit licence which covers the print and electronic versions – you can get these forms from your Graduate school office.

Who will see my thesis and how will they find it?
Your thesis will be available to view by anyone with an internet connection. Search engines such as Google will find you work if matching search terms are entered. In addition, your thesis will be made available via the British Library’s ETHOS service . Your work is also linked from Library Search.

Why should I make it available electronically?
Theses are a greatly underused but very rich resource – some studies suggest less than 1% of PhD thesis are ever consulted. Making your work available in our open access collection will result in it being accessible to a much wider audience and some research has suggested that this increases its overall impact and possibly, citation count. In addition, providing a digital copy ensures preservation of your work. Most Universities are now building up collections of their theses output electronically.

Do I still need to deposit a print copy of my thesis?
Yes, you will still need to deposit a print copy of your thesis for the Library, and another for your school. As e-theses becomes more established, this requirement may change.

What about copyright?
For detailed information regarding copyright and your thesis, read the RESIN pages. Briefly, as author, you own the copyright for your thesis. However, you must be sure that any 'third party copyright material' (for example maps, illustrations, images and diagrams) which you my have used in your work has been 'cleared' that is, you have permission to use it from the copyright owner.