Australasian Digital Theses Program
Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of making my thesis available online?
Approximately 4,000 research degrees are awarded each year in Australia. Students work very hard to produce the important research contained in their theses but with print only deposit in university libraries, very little of this research will ever be viewed. With inclusion in the Australasian Digital Thesis Program, your thesis will be accessible to all interested researchers worldwide. Nationally there have been reports of thesis authors gaining jobs and further research offers because of the exposure of their research in the Australasian Digital Thesis Program.
Is it mandatory for me to make my thesis available online?
From 1 March 2005, graduating Swinburne students will be required to deposit an electronic copy of their thesis to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. However, it is not necessarily compulsory to have them made available online immediately. If necessary, access can be restricted for up to 24 months.
Who can access my thesis once it has been deposited to the ADT database?
Once your thesis has been deposited to the ADT database it will be in the public domain and will be accessible by Swinburne staff and students, ADT participating institutions, the Australian and international research communities and the world via search engines such as Google.
Will my thesis be more open to plagiarism if it is available online?
Plagiarism will always be a concern, however, many authors participating in the ADT program feel that publishing online for all to see is more likely to be an effective foil against blatant plagiarism. Plagiarism is only likely to succeed if no one detects the problem; therefore, by making your thesis more freely available to a wide audience you are increasing the chances of detection.
How do I know whether there are any copyright issues related to my thesis?
If you have included copyright material which does not belong to you (eg: pictures, tables, graphs, substantial amounts of text), you must either obtain permission to include that material or omit it from the electronic version of your thesis. Please include a notation where material has been removed. Contact the Copyright Office for assistance on 9214 5664 or visit the Swinburne Copyright website for further details. Note that this does not apply to the printed version of your thesis.
Will I be able to publish my thesis commercially if I submit my thesis to ADT?
Since publishers vary widely in their policies, it is recommended that students contact individual publishers directly to answer this query before submitting their digital thesis. You may like to use the following URL to access publisher contact details: http://www.nla.gov.au/libraries/resource/bookpub.html
What if I completed my thesis at Swinburne before the ADT program started?
Former Swinburne research students are welcome and encouraged to provide an electronic copy of their thesis for inclusion in the Swinburne Digital Thesis Program. Phone 9214 4818 or email Helen Wolff (helenwolff@swin.edu.au) for information.
For further information:
If you would like to view the ADT program or learn more about it, go to the ADT website or phone the Swinburne ADT Coordinator on 9214 4818.
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