Taught Postgraduate Dissertations
Submission details for students
From 1st September 2011, the Library will be accepting taught postgraduate dissertations (MSc, MBA, MRes, etc) in electronic format only. Submission will be a twofold process:
- Students will submit a copy to their Department/Faculty as required. They will then make a separate submission to the Library. This will be via a web-form with an upload function.
- The form will collect student and dissertation details. It will also request permission to store the file and seek confirmation about the authorship of the work and the correct referencing of any other material in the dissertation.
- PDF is the preferred format for dissertation submission. The PDF should be a reasonable size - no larger than 20mb, bearing in mind that some readers will have slower bandwidths for downloading.
- These dissertations will only be made available for electronic download within the University of Bath community. Additionally, they may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation.
- The Library will normally only accept dissertations with a merit or distinction award. In accordance with the University retention schedule, dissertations will be removed after five years.
- Participation by Departments is optional, and the service has been put in place to assist departments that have requested the facility.
Copyright and permissions in e-theses and dissertations
Information for students
It is good academic practice that you carefully consider the copyright of material from other sources in your dissertation. This is called third party copyright. You should seek permission where possible to use material from other sources - if this is not possible, you should discuss this with your supervisor before submitting your electronic copy.
The Society of Authors has very good information for students and authors who require permission to use copyrighted materials. They provide suggestions on how to go about seeking permission, and they provide guidance on the use of quotations as 'fair dealing' under the Copyright Act. A good place to start when searching for copyright holders is the Watch File.
When you submit your e-dissertation, we will ask that you give permission for the University to store and distribute your work, and also to confirm that you are the author of the whole work and have referenced other material appropriately.