eThesis

All PGRs are required to upload their final, examined thesis to our eTheses repository, White Rose eTheses Online (WREO), as a single PDF file. 

There are several benefits of publishing your thesis in the White Rose repository:  

  • your thesis is more likely to be widely read  
  • theses are immediately available and readily searchable  
  • the worldwide visibility of UK higher education research is increased  
  • underused primary research is made available  
  • your profile as a researcher, and the profile of your institution and individual schools may be raised  

eThesis submissions can help you meet the requirements of your funding body (for example, research councils). For more information, please see the Guide to the thesis examination process on the Research students guidance page of the For Students website.  

Any additional content that is examined (for example video files, web pages) should also be uploaded to WREO. This must be the version that has been approved by the internal examiner, and have any corrections or editorial amendments incorporated within it.  If an embargo period is to be applied, it must be agreed with your supervisor and in line with any maximum embargo lengths specified by your funder.  

You can find more information about how to upload your thesis to WREO on the Library website.  

Research integrity considerations for eThesis 

Before you begin, remember that your thesis must be in a format suitable for electronic publication.   

Below is a short checklist based on scenarios that have arisen since the eThesis approach was brought into the University: 

  • Consider copyright from the beginning of your research.  
  • Keep records of any materials you may want to use as you find them, including images and information found online. Also include where and when you found them.  
  • Investigate how copyright might affect how you structure your thesis, for example, will redacting (removing or obscuring) copyright material impact on how it is understood?  
  • Seek permission from the copyright holder early on to include copyright material in the electronic version of your thesis.  

Permissions  

What material might you use? You might include diagrams or charts created by other scholars to visualise ideas. You might analyse data sets produced by other researchers. You may critique artwork or photographs created by others.

You will need to contact the copyright holder and request permission to include the material in your eThesis. But in some cases, it may not be possible to gain permission. This could be because permission is declined, you do not receive a response, or because there is an expensive fee to use copyright material.  

This means that you may not be able to make the full text of your awarded eThesis available online and you may need to submit a redacted eThesis.

Futher support and training 

Visit the Library website copyright pages for information on:  

  • when you need to seek permission from the copyright holder  
  • how you can use third party content in your thesis  
  • information about copyright relating to publishing material from your thesis  
  • licensing your thesis for others to use and protecting your rights as the author  
  • letter templates for requesting permission from the copyright holder.  

If you have any queries during the upload process, or need advice on file types, please email research@library.leeds.ac.uk  

Further information on thesis submission can also be found on the Submitting your final eThesis page of the For Students website.   

If your thesis is eligible for submission under the protocol which allows for published material to be submitted alongside a written commentary, please refer to the Faculty Protocols for the format and presentation of an alternative style of doctoral thesis including published material for further guidance.  

If your thesis is to be considered for the practice-led route (specific to the Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Cultures), then please refer to the guidance and be aware that discussions need to start from the outset of your studies.  

Any queries can be directed to rp_examinations@adm.leeds.ac.uk