The Melbourne School Of Graduate Research

PhD THESIS

PREPARATION OF A PhD THESIS

Candidates are strongly advised to discuss with their supervisors the style of writing to be used in the thesis before writing begins.

In all cases the supervisor should be consulted at the beginning of the work. The stages of investigation and writing are likely to vary according to the nature of the subject and should be worked out in consultation with the supervisor.

Thesis chapters may be comprised of work that is prepared de novo and specifically for the thesis, reprints or other reproductions of published works or an adaptation of published work. Guidelines for the preparation of a thesis that contains reprints or reproductions of published work are outlined in "Preparation of a thesis that contains published work".

All candidates are required to prepare at least one substantial piece of work towards the final thesis annually, however, the form this takes, and its relation to the final draft, will vary from discipline to discipline.

The thesis should include general discussion of the candidate's results and findings, and of their significance in relation to the current state of knowledge in the field.

In some disciplines it will be appropriate to concentrate the review of the literature and extended general discussion in introductory and concluding chapters, in other disciplines the review and discussion should be distributed throughout the thesis.

For research topics in the experimental and theoretical sciences, the laboratory or development phase of the work may require the closest supervision and discussion with the candidate.

In the case of creative arts disciplines where the thesis may take the form of creative works and a dissertation, the candidate should specify the form and presentation of the thesis including the proportion to be presented as creative work and the proportion to be presented as a dissertation. Normally the creative work component will not constitute more than 50% of the thesis. The creative work and dissertation must be presented as an integrated, coherent whole.

The candidate should, at the stage of thesis preparation, be able to express herself/himself with precision, clarity and conciseness. The supervisor must be consulted on the general form and the content of the thesis up to the stage of the final draft.

It is expected that the thesis will reflect work done during the period of candidature but may include related preliminary material provided that it has not contributed to an award of a previous qualification. If work has been used for the award of another qualification it should be explicitly stated in the body of the text and in the Preface.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING A PhD THESIS

Examiners are provided with information to assist with the marking of the thesis. The format and style of PhD theses can differ as it is expected that a thesis be written to the convention of that field. However examiners are asked to consider, where appropriate, eight questions. These are:

does the candidate show sufficient familiarity with, and understanding and critical appraisal of, the relevant literature?
does the thesis provide a sufficiently comprehensive investigation of the topic?
are the methods and techniques adopted appropriate to the subject matter and are they properly justified and applied?
are the results suitably set out and accompanied by adequate exposition and interpretation?
are conclusions and implications appropriately developed and clearly linked to the nature and content of the research framework and findings?
has/have the research question/questions been tested?
is the literary quality and general presentation of the thesis of a suitably high standard?
does the thesis as a whole constitute a substantive original contribution to knowledge in the subject area with which it deals?

Examiners are also asked to consider the following attributes:

the thesis demonstrates authority in the candidate's field and shows evidence of command of knowledge in relevant fields;
it shows that the candidate has a thorough grasp of the appropriate methodological techniques and an awareness of their limitations;
it makes a distinct contribution to knowledge. Its contribution to knowledge rests on originality of approach and/or interpretation of the findings and, in some cases, the discovery of new facts;
it demonstrates an ability to communicate research findings effectively in the professional arena and in an international context;
it is a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a research "apprenticeship" is complete and the holder should be admitted to the community of scholars in the discipline.

It is expected that examiners consider the thesis solely on its merits as an independent piece of supervised research, irrespective of whether or not the thesis adopts an approach which may be considered as not falling within the mainstream or established research paradigm for the discipline, and irrespective of whether or not the approach to the research is the same as that which the examiner might have used in such a study.

STANDARD OF EXAMINATION OF CREATIVE WORK

In order to pass the examination, and thus qualify as part of the basis for the award of the PhD degree, the creative work must have the following attributes:

it demonstrates a professional level of familiarity with and understanding of contemporary work in the field;
it demonstrates a sufficiently comprehensive investigation of the artistic form and creative content;
the methods and techniques applied in the execution of the work are appropriate to the subject matter and are original and/or aesthetically effective;
the creative work is presented in a sufficiently professional manner;
the creative work demonstrates a sufficiently high standard of literary, visual, digital, musical or performance literacy and quality;
the research question/s has/have been identified and tested through the creative work;
the documentation of the work (including catalogue/program material where appropriate) is sufficiently thorough and is of a standard that will ensure the work provides a reference for subsequent researchers;
the creative work and the dissertation together constitute a substantive original contribution to knowledge in the subject-area with which it deals;
there is an appropriate and substantiated interface between the creative work and the dissertation.

Examiners are advised that they may ask for creative works to be represented or re-documented if they do not meet the above criteria.

EDITING OF THESES

Editing in this context has been defined as the detailed and extensive correction of problems in writing style (e.g. ghost writing) as opposed to providing general guidelines about problems with style and accuracy, or proof reading for mechanical inaccuracy.

As early as possible in the candidature the supervisor must assess the candidate's writing abilities. In the case of PhD candidates this must be an integral component of the confirmation process, which requires the candidate to provide a piece of written work. This should be of sufficient length to demonstrate writing proficiency and indicate the standard of the candidate's composition skills.

If the supervisor considers that further work is required in areas such as composition and grammar for the candidate to be successful in completing the PhD, the supervisor should then provide advice and assistance as to how an appropriate standard can be achieved. The supervisor needs to explain the level and extent of support the candidate can expect of them as supervisor. Such advice may include referral to the units such as the Academic Skills Unit and the Academic Support Team at the Melbourne School of Graduate Research.

The supervisor should continue to monitor the candidate's progress in order to resolve any ongoing difficulties. Supervisors should advise candidates about structure, style, and general editing issues and should guide their candidates accordingly. It is appropriate for supervisors to undertake some editing tasks, but within limits. A thesis must express the candidate's voice. Writing is considered an important part of the degree and any assistance with writing must be conducted as part of the overall learning process. Any additional assistance received by the candidate must be fully supported by continuous feedback from supervisors as part of the integral learning process. The integrity of the work relies on the thesis as demonstrably the candidate's work and must indicate that the candidate has the ability to write and argue with clarity.

Acquiring expertise in writing and editing is often seen as an important professional development for graduate research students. Student colleagues may be appropriate readers and editors of a thesis, and candidates should be encouraged to explore alternative avenues for assistance available from within their department and the wider University community.

Only in rare and exceptional circumstances and with the knowledge and support of supervisors, should students use paid editorial assistance from an outside source. The use of third party editorial assistance, either paid or voluntary, must be acknowledged in the preface and is limited to the guidelines adopted by the University. See the Editing of Research Theses by Professional Editors.

COMPLETION SEMINAR

Overview

All PhD candidates are required to make a public presentation of their research findings at the University in the three–six months prior to submitting their thesis for examination. The public presentation is regarded as an important part of PhD candidature. The seminar should present the objectives, methods, findings and significance of the candidate's PhD thesis research.

Benefits

For the candidate, the opportunity to take part in a completion seminar that includes constructive feedback from informed and experienced researchers, and that is timed to enable the student to refine the dissertation and, if necessary, to further develop the personal skills needed to present the candidate's arguments effectively, will be a positive contribution to student learning.

For the University, it provides the opportunity to verify that the candidate owns and understands the research that they are presenting; illustrates that candidates have the oral presentation and other research attributes expected of PhD graduates from this university; and ensures equity among PhD candidates in procedures for reporting on their research at the University.

Format of the seminar

The seminar will normally be no less than an hour (including time for questions and feedback from the panel and general members of the audience). The panel may require the candidate to remain in closed session for further discussion as necessary. The candidate should present a thesis summary and chapter outline to members of the panel at least one week in advance of the presentation. The materials should not exceed 2 000 words and should provide a brief overview of the aims and scope of the thesis and of the main results. In addition the candidate should provide a brief abstract of no more than 100 words to facilitate publicity of the seminar and provide a hard copy of the presentation to the panel for departmental records.

Attendance at the seminar

The time, title and candidate details should be advertised in appropriate University and/or research institute media within the Melbourne region (e.g. UniNews) and relevant regional campuses to encourage attendance by interested persons.

Membership and role of the panel

A panel which consists of a minimum of three members including the thesis supervisor(s) and the head of department or nominee must be present. While many panels may be wholly internal in membership, external membership of the panel is also appropriate, and members may be drawn from any suitable tertiary institution/research organisation. The candidate's advisory committee should act as the panel, but may also include additional members where required.

Panel members should be at least broadly knowledgeable about the field of study, and might be expert in some aspect of the research topic. However, they are not required to be expert in the same sense as the thesis examiners, to be familiar with the written work of the candidate, or to have read a full draft of the thesis in preparation for the seminar. Rather, their role is to provide general feedback on the material as presented to them in the seminar. The panel chair should be a member other than the supervisor. The Panel members are expected to complete a report which notes the strengths and weaknesses of the work as presented and may identify to the candidate how particular aspects of the thesis might be enhanced.

Submission of Thesis Form

Completion of the seminar requirement will be signed off by the supervisor(s) and head of department on the Completion Seminar section of the Submission of Thesis: Statement by Candidate, Supervisor and Chairperson of Examiners form and will include the date and location of the completion seminar. The completion seminar is a hurdle requirement for submission of the thesis. Candidates leaving Melbourne earlier than six months prior to completion of their thesis should expect to return to Melbourne to present the completion seminar, or may be given permission to present an equivalent 'progress' seminar prior to departing.

WRITING A THESIS IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH OR UNDER A JOINTLY-AWARDED PhD PROGRAM, INCLUDING A COTUTELLE ARRANGEMENT

All theses should normally be written in English.

Should a candidate wish to write a thesis in a language other than English, an application must be made to the RHD Committee at an early stage in the candidature.

The RHD Committee will consider such an application only if full justification is provided by the department for presenting a thesis in a language other than English.

Where permission is granted, a substantial summary of thethesis (approximately 5 000 – 10 000 words) in English should be bound in the thesis and include an introduction, brief chapter outline and conclusion.

In the case of a jointly-awarded PhD program, including a Cotutelle, a thesis written in the language of one of the countries involved, should also have a summary of 5 000 – 10 000 words including an introduction, brief chapter outline and conclusion, in the language of the other.

WORD LIMIT

Candidates should aim to write a thesis of 80 000 words.

The word limit is exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Footnotes are included as part of the word limit. Appendices must be limited to supporting material genuinely subsidiary to the main argument of the thesis.

Candidates may write up to 100 000 words without seeking special permission from the RHD Committee. In exceptional circumstances, application can be made to the RHD Committee to submit theses longer than 100 000 words. The application must be made prior to submission of the thesis. It must include the justification for the request, the expected length of the thesis and be supported by the supervisor and head of department, who must also certify that the proposed examiners do not object to examining a longer thesis.

In the case of creative arts disciplines where the thesis may take the form of creative works and a dissertation, the integrated thesis should normally represent the equivalent of 80 000 words. The creative work component will be determined between the candidate and supervisor, be approved by the head of department and be relevant to the proportion of the thesis submitted as creative work. The length of the dissertation will also depend on what proportion of the thesis it constitutes, but will normally be at least 40 000 words.

For the PhD (composition), the folio will constitute 90 - 120 minutes of music and is weighted at 70%. The accompanying dissertation will be 20 - 25 000 words and weighted at 30%.

PREPARATION OF A THESIS THAT CONTAINS PUBLISHED WORK

Candidates are strongly encouraged where appropriate to publish work from their PhD research during candidature. However, the preparation of publications should not impede progress on the thesis. Thesis chapters may be comprised of work that is written de novo and specifically for the thesis, reprints or other reproductions of published works or an adaptation of published work.

No matter what form the thesis takes, it must be presented, in both form and content, as a unified whole and address a significant research question.

Publications, such as reprints of journal articles, published creative writing and catalogues and documentation of public performances or exhibited work, may also be included in an appropriate form in the appendix, including for example as DVD, CD or URL addresses, if not included as a chapter. If published material is to be included as a chapter or chapters of a thesis the following conditions must be followed:

Publications included in the thesis must represent an integrated body of work addressing a significant research question.
Candidates must gain approval to include published works in their thesis from their Advisory Committee, 6 months prior to submission.
The following conditions apply to publications that form chapters of the thesis:

The candidate must have contributed >50% of the content in each of the publications and be the "primary author"*
The initial draft of the paper must have been written by the candidate and subsequent editing in response to co-authors and editors must have been performed by the candidate.
Author contributions must be acknowledged in the Preface and detailed on the "Declaration of Collaborative Work" form and attached, along with "Collaborator Authorisation" forms signed by each of the collaborators, to the Submission of Thesis Form.
The publication must be accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal prior to submission of the thesis.
Publications must pertain directly to the thesis topic.
Review publications cannot be included as direct reproductions.

All theses, whether they contain publications or not must have a literature review that clearly details the research question, and a general discussion that integrates the work. In a thesis that is composed entirely of publications, a discrete concluding general discussion chapter must place the work in the publications into the context of the research question posed in the literature review. In any thesis that contains a mixture of publications and de novo chapters, candidates must ensure that the publications are placed in context with the rest of the work.
The candidate must ensure that all methods used in the thesis work are clearly described in the thesis noting that such detail is often lacking in publications. Additional methods sections may therefore be required.
Candidates are encouraged to include any data and discussion that was abbreviated due to the strictures of the publication process, including material published as supplementary.

*A primary author is one who is primarily responsible for the planning, execution and preparation of work for publication. When the principal supervisor signs the "Declaration of Collaborative Work" form they are asked to acknowledge that the PhD candidate was the primary author and contributed >50% of the content in each of the publications. Note that it is possible that more than one author could be considered "primary" by virtue of similar contributions, but such a work could not be included as a thesis chapter as the candidate would have contributed ≤50% of the publication.

Note: The above advice is subject to any obligations or contractual agreements with a third party that may encumber the publication of a candidate's research but not the inclusion of such work in the candidate's thesis.

FORMAT OF THE THESIS

It is impractical to lay down general regulations on preparation, form and content of PhD theses. The great majority of candidates will previously have successfully submitted an honours or masters thesis, and it may be presumed that they are familiar with the scholarly conventions in the presentation of references, accuracy of quotation and construction of bibliographies applicable to their discipline. Some departments issue instructions on these matters.

International Standard Paper Size A4 (297 x 210mm) should be used.

The typing should be 1.5 spaced and presented in a clear and legible font and would normally be expected to be double-sided.

Left and right margins should be no less than 30mm and page numbers should appear inside the margins.

Pages should be numbered consecutively and clearly.

Folding diagrams or charts should be arranged so as to open to the top and right.

Before producing final copies of a thesis for submission, the candidate should ensure that all the spelling, grammar, punctuation and choice of language are of a doctoral standard and the bibliography is complete and exact.

All theses, whether they contain publications or not, must have a literature review that clearly details the research question, and a general discussion that integrates the work. In a thesis that is composed entirely of publications, a discrete concluding general discussion chapter must place the work in the publications into the context of the research question posed in the literature review. In any thesis that contains a mixture of publications and de novo chapters, candidates must ensure that the publications are placed in context with the rest of the work.

In the case of creative arts disciplines the thesis may take the form of creative work plus dissertation. The creative work may take the form of performance, exhibition, writing (poetry, fiction, script or other written literary forms), design, film, video, multimedia, CD, DVD or other new media technologies and modes of presentation. Where appropriate to the study, the creative work must be comprehensively documented. Either the documentation or the creative work or both must be submitted with the dissertation.

The dissertation and the creative work should be considered as complementary, mutually reinforcing parts of a single project. The candidate may argue, however, that the relationship between the two parts contributes to the originality and creativity of the whole. The dissertation should not simply describe the creative work and how it was undertaken. While it will often include information on the materials and methodology used and elucidate the creative work and place it in an artistic, intellectual and/or cultural context, the dissertation must answer to the requirement of every PhD research thesis that it makes an original contribution to knowledge.

The format of the creative work component of the thesis will be agreed between the candidate and supervisor, and be approved by the head of department at confirmation. The format of the dissertation component will normally meet the guidelines for a written thesis set out above.

Where the creative work component involves performance (dance, drama, music), a good quality recording of the performance must be included as part of the thesis, or in the case of Music Composition, to the folio. Where the creative work component involves exhibited visual art works, good quality photographic reproductions of the work must be included as an appendix to the dissertation.

Order of contents

A thesis follows the following order:

Title page
Abstract
Declaration
Preface (if applicable)
Contribution to Published Work form (if applicable)
Acknowledgments
Table of contents
List of tables, figures and illustrations (if list items are fewer than 10 in number, this is not necessary)
Main text
Bibliography or List of References
Appendices

Title page

A thesis must be preceded by a title page. The University logo is not permitted to be used in the thesis. The title page of the thesis should show:

the title of the thesis
the full name of the author (as it appears on the enrolment record)
the degree for which submitted (see below)
month and year
the name of the department or faculty in which the research was carried out.

Candidates who have pursued a course of study by research alone, including combined Masters/PhD degrees, shall state on the title page:

"Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy".

Candidates who have pursued a course of study with coursework component shall state:

"Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (with coursework component)".

Candidates who have submitted a thesis consisting of creative work and a dissertation shall state: "Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by creative work and dissertation)".

Candidates who have submitted a thesis under a jointly-awarded PhD program shall state "Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under a jointly-awarded PhD program with The University of Melbourne and [name of partner institution]".

Candidates who have submitted a thesis under a Cotutelle arrangement shall state: "Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under a Cotutelle arrangement with The University of Melbourne and [name of partner institution]".

Example of title page:

Title of the thesis
The full name of the author
Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Month Year
Department or Faculty
The University of Melbourne

Abstract

The title page must be followed by:

An Abstract of 300–500 words in English. (In the case of creative arts the Abstract must include a description of the form and presentation of the creative work).

Declaration

The following declaration, signed by the candidate:

This is to certify that

the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated in the Preface,
due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used,
the thesis is fewer than 100 000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices or the thesis is [number of words] as approved by the RHD Committee.

Preface

If applicable, a preface includes where appropriate, a statement of:

work carried out in collaboration indicating the nature and proportion of the contribution of others and in general terms the portions of the work which the candidate claims as original,
work submitted for other "qualifications",
work carried out prior to PhD candidature enrolment,
any third party editorial assistance, either paid or voluntary (as limited to the Editing of Research Theses by Professional Editors guidelines) and/or
where a substantially unchanged multi-author paper is included in the thesis a statement prepared by the candidate explaining the contributions of all involved. A signed copy by all authors must be included with the submission form.

THESIS PREPARATION AND BINDING

Theses should normally be bound using thermal binding.

Thermal binding must be used with covers strong enough to resist damage by bending or knocking. Twin-ring, spring-back and spiral binders are not acceptable, as theses bound in these ways frequently do not survive travel through the post. Thermal binding should not exceed 300 pages (absolute maximum thickness of 35mm per copy).

If there are photographs or charts which need to be included in the thesis, facilities are available for colour laser printing and photocopying in the Graduate Student Association and a scanner is available in the Graduate Presentation and Publishing Centre. The Graduate Student Association also provides a thermal binding and photocopying service.

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SUBMIT THESIS

80-word summary

Three months prior to the submission date of the thesis, the candidate is required to submit an 80-word summary of the thesis argument to the Melbourne School of Graduate Research. Candidates are required to discuss the time-frame for thesis submission with their supervisor prior to submitting an 80-word summary. The 80-word summary should be submitted via the on-line form.

In addition to the 80-word summary the following information is required:

candidate's name
student number
department
supervisor(s) name (if required an Application for Change of Supervisor form is available from the Student Portal)
thesis title
current address.

The summary activates the process of nominating potential examiners for the thesis.

Candidates are not informed of the names of persons nominated as possible examiners, but are permitted to name individuals whom they do not wish appointed as examiners. Candidates who wish to name individuals whom they do not wish to act as their examiners should provide a written statement to the head of department at the time of submission of their 80-word summary.

In the case of creative arts disciplines where a thesis consists of creative works and a dissertation, and where the creative work component includes performance or exhibition of visual art works, candidates are additionally required to submit an extended abstract of 1 000 – 3 000 words to the Chair of Examiners for forwarding to the examiners one week prior to the viewing.

Note: If more than three months lapses between submission of the 80-word summary and the thesis for examination, it is recommended that the candidate notify the MSGR two weeks before the thesis is to be submitted to avoid delays with the examination. MSGR Examinations Office can be notified by e-mail at msgr-exams@unimelb.edu.au.

THESIS SUBMISSION

Three copies of the thesis must be submitted to the Melbourne School of Graduate Research, with the candidates name clearly marked on the spine, family name in capitals. In the case of creative arts disciplines where a thesis consists of creative works and a dissertation, and where the creative work component includes performance or exhibition of visual art works, four copies must be submitted within six months from the time of the viewing. Where a candidate submits the thesis by courier (or mail) the Melbourne School of Graduate Research will send a thesis receipt by post. On receipt of an approved submission form two copies will be sent to the examiners and one will be retained for the reference of the Chair of Examiners. The Chair's copy will be available to the candidate on receipt of a result. Candidates are strongly advised to retain a further copy of the thesis for their own use during the examination.

Examiners' copies will only be returned if prior agreement has been made with the Melbourne School of Graduate Research. A request for the return of your thesis can be made on the Submission of Thesis: Statement by Candidate, Supervisor and Chairperson of Examiners form, sent by the Melbourne School of Graduate Research on receipt of your 80-word summary. As an academic courtesy, it is hoped that candidates will allow examiners to keep their copy of the thesis.

The Submission of Thesis: Statement by Candidate, Supervisor and Chairperson of Examiners form, also certifies that the thesis comprises only the candidate's original work, and that due acknowledgement has been made to all other material used. A supervisor (normally the principal supervisor) and Chair of Examiners (normally the head of department) will be required to certify that the thesis is prima facie ready to go forward to examination and that it embodies the candidate's own work. The form also includes a section where the candidate (in consultation with the supervisor) may request that the examiners maintain the confidentiality of the thesis contents. Such a request may be required where there are research contracts with outside organisation or other issues related to intellectual property.

Where the candidate's supervisor considers the thesis to have significant shortcomings but may proceed to examination, or that the thesis should not be sent out for examination, the supervisor must provide a detailed outline of their concerns to the candidate and attach a copy to the Submission of Thesis form. It is in the candidate's interest to carefully consider and to seek advice as appropriate before submitting the thesis for examination without their supervisor's endorsement. Where the concerns raised relate to deficiencies in the thesis and the candidate elects to proceed to having the thesis examined, the Melbourne School of Graduate Research will consider the supervisor's concerns and will seek final consent from the candidate before commencing the examination. The examiners are not informed of any shortcomings while the thesis is under examination.

Where the candidate's supervisor recommends that the thesis should not be sent out for examination a subcommittee of the Research Higher Degrees Committee will be convened to consider submissions by the candidate and supervisor to determine whether the thesis will be forwarded for examination. If the candidate disagrees with the decision of the subcommittee, the Academic Board appeal process will be available to the candidate.

International candidates on a Student (Postgraduate Research) visa (Subclass 574) may find that their visa expires shortly after they have submitted their thesis. In order to remain lawfully in Australia during the marking of their thesis, they must renew their student visa in Australia by lodging a paper application with a Certificate of Marking of Thesis from International Student Services (ISS).

FINAL FORM OF THE THESIS

On completion of the examination two copies of the thesis in permanent hard cover binding, incorporating any necessary amendments or revisions, must be submitted to the Chair of Examiners to be approved. Candidates who commenced from January 2007 are also required to submit an electronic copy of the thesis on the University of Melbourne ePrints Repository (UMER). Addenda of any length are not accepted. One copy must be printed on archival quality paper (paper should be approximately 80–100gsm) available from the University Bookshop or stationery suppliers. The words "Produced on archival quality paper" should be printed or typed on the title page of this copy. The University logo is not permitted to be used in the thesis.

The following must be printed on the spine of the thesis:

full name of the author,
title of the thesis (abbreviated if necessary),
degree (i.e. PhD), and
year of initial submission, or in the case of rewrites the year of resubmission

There are no colour restrictions for the thesis cover. The archival quality copy is for the Baillieu Library and the second copy for the Department Library.

MAKING YOUR THESIS AVAILABLE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE ePRINTS REPOSITORY (UMER)

Academic Board Policy Research Higher Degree Thesis Examination mandates that a digital copy of a completed higher degree thesis must be submitted to the Library. This applies to candidates who commenced from 2007. The thesis must be received by the Library prior to award of the degree. All candidates who commenced prior to 2007 are encouraged to submit a digital copy but it is not mandatory.

The University of Melbourne Library maintains an institutional repository (UMER) that is able to receive and store these digital copies. Theses submitted can be made available for open access or only the citation and metadata will be made available for open access. Candidates are required to discuss with their supervisor any Intellectual Property implications prior to lodging their thesis on-line.

When the thesis has been deposited by the candidate using the online deposit form, the Library notifies MSGR that the digital copy of the thesis has been received so that the award can be made. The thesis is not made available for open access at this point. The citation and metadata only would be available on open access.

Although it is mandatory to submit a digital copy of a thesis to the repository, candidates may choose to publish their thesis online (available to the world) or allow only the citation and abstract to be available. If the candidate agrees to allow the full text of their thesis to be made available, the necessary permissions for third party copyright material must be dealt with.

If the candidate has chosen open access, the Library will contact the supervisor or head of department before making the thesis available. If an objection is received, the Library will alert MSGR. MSGR will facilitate resolution of the situation and notify the Library when the matter is resolved. If the candidate disagrees with the restriction placed on the thesis, they can appeal through the University Grievance Procedures.

MSGR notifies the Library about the resolution of the issue. Depending upon this decision, the thesis is either made available for open access in its entirety, or only the citation and metadata are displayed. An embargo will apply if the candidate has selected open access but the supervisor has requested that the full text not be made available for a specific period of time however, this cannot exceed seven years.

There are advantages to storage in the institutional repository. As far as is practicable, UMER assumes responsibility for preservation of the document in digital format. Theses made available for open access may receive greater exposure from an international community of scholars. UMER uses software which is searchable by general search engines, such as Google, as well as 'scholarly' search engines such as Google Scholar and the National Library's Trove. This raises the profile of the scholar and also raises the profile of the University. However it is important to respect the intellectual property rights of any collaborators involved in the project.

There are clear instructions to guide the uploading process on the Repository.

ePrints Guide

LIBRARY SERVICES, RESOURCES AND CONTACTS FOR GRADUATE RESEARCHERS

Research Support

The University of Melbourne Library collection contains a variety of publications on the writing of theses. The Literature Reviews guide written by Library staff provides lists of titles that may assist you. They are grouped under the headings: General Resources, Resources for Specific Disciplines, Scholarly Publishing, and Style Guides & Manuals.

Literature Reviews

Candidates may like to access theses completed by University of Melbourne graduates, or others completed in Australia and overseas. The Finding Theses Guide provides links to electronic thesis indexes and provides information about accessing archival copies of theses in the University of Melbourne Thesis Collection. It is also advisable to determine if your department maintains a thesis library.

Find theses

Other resources

The Graduate Student Association publication, Thesis Writing Guide provides basic advice and is available from the GSA or on the web.

A list of bookbinders is available from MSGR or the Graduate Student Association. A free pick up and delivery services for theses to be hardbound is available through the GSA Printroom.

IT support to graduate students is available through GSA staff (G25 Ground floor)

Maps of the building and documents describing all services and facilities in the Graduate Centre are available from GSA Reception (G11 Ground floor).

The Melbourne School of Graduate Research