Library Out Loud

Like many universities (if not all), Massey University now requires an electronic copy of a master’s or doctoral thesis to be submitted along with the print copy. The electronic copy gets uploaded to Massey Research Online (MRO), and is there far more visible and far more accessible to the rest of the world than the print copy, modestly sitting in the Library vault! The vast majority of people looking at your thesis will be looking at the electronic version.

But a surprising number of theses arrive at the Library without an electronic copy suitable to upload to MRO. The requirements for both digital and print copies are laid out in the Guide to the Presentation of Theses. The key points for digital copies are:

• That there is one(!), supplied as a read only CD-ROM
• That it is the same as the print copy, and accompanied by a complete and clear Thesis Declaration form
• That it is unencrypted or not security protected
• That there is copyright permission for any reprints of journal articles, conference papers, or any other material where a third party holds copyright

This is a very basic list: for more detail, refer to the Guide. Remember that University regulations stipulate the submission of both a usable print copy and an electronic copy. If the Library needs to chase up the digital copy of your thesis, it also means that the print copy can’t be made available. A thesis represents a huge amount of time and effort on your part – make sure that it’s visible!