Theses

The University of Salford requires that an electronic copy of all new research theses are deposited in the University of Salford’s Institutional Repository (USIR). Awards eligible for inclusion in this collection are: PhD, MPhil, MSc by research, MRes, DProf, DLit, DMA, DSc, LLM.

Making research theses open access allows researchers to disseminate their scholarly work to a wider audience. By having a digital version openly accessible online, and readily searchable through Google and other search engines, as well as the University of Salford's Library Search, the visibility of a researcher is greatly enhanced and so is the research reputation of the University of Salford. Using USIR as an eTheses repository also aids the long-term preservation of research theses.

See the University's Code of Practice for the Conduct of Postgraduate Research Degrees for thesis submission guidelines.

To find theses in your research area search our Dissertations & Theses database collection.

Depositing your Thesis in USIR

The University of Salford requires that an electronic copy of all new research theses be deposited in the University of Salford's Institutional Repository (USIR). Awards eligible for inclusion in this collection are: PhD, MPhil, MSc by research, MRes, DProf, DLit, DMA, DSc, LLM. The University's Code of Practice for the Conduct of Postgraduate Research Degrees includes thesis submission guidelines. Deposit instructions are available in our Depositing your thesis in USIR guide or you can email Library-research@salford.ac.uk for support.

It is important that you ensure you have copyright permission for any content you include in your thesis. Our Copyright for theses guide provides details of how you can use copyrighted material in your thesis and protect your copyright. You might also find our interactive Copyright for Researchers tool useful.

Making research theses open access allows researchers to disseminate their scholarly work to a wider audience. By having a digital version openly accessible online, and readily searchable through Google and other search engines, as well as the University of Salford's Library Search, the visibility of a researcher is enhanced and so is the research reputation of the University of Salford. Using USIR as an eTheses repository also aids the long-term preservation of research theses.

Further support

• Dissertations and theses includes eLearning resources to help you develop the skills you need to create your dissertation or thesis.
• Finding Dissertations and Theses provides guidance on where to search for dissertations or theses in your research area, as well as tips on how to search.

Will deposit affect the copyright of my thesis?

USIR is an open access repository and research theses are made publicly available to ensure that the University's research reaches the widest possible audience, in accordance with our commitment to open access.

Under the terms of the University's Intellectual Property Policy, copyright of a thesis (with the exception of any third party copyright included in the thesis) rests with the author.

By signing USIR's deposit agreement, you grant the University the rights necessary to make the thesis available online through USIR.

Publishers do not normally consider the publication of an academic thesis in an institutional repository to be "prior publication", nor do they normally restrict an author's right to include their own published work in an academic thesis. However, students are advised to check publisher copyright policies before making their thesis openly available. It is also important to consider whether there are any commercial considerations before making the thesis publicly available – for example, where research has been sponsored by a third party, there may be restrictions on publication. Check with your supervisor in the first instance.

If you are intending to publish your thesis you can apply for a moratorium (embargo). If granted, access will be restricted for an initial period of two years. After that period, annual extensions will be considered up to five years in total. If you wish to apply for a moratorium, or if you would like additional information, please email the University's Postgraduate Administration team:sa-pgr@salford.ac.uk.

Using 3rd party copyrighted material

While you were researching and writing your thesis you will have made use of many copyrighted items and "Fair dealing" allows the use of this material for the purposes of study, research and examination, so as a research student, you can use this material in your thesis without infringing copyright. However, by depositing an electronic copy in USIR you are effectively making someone else's intellectual property freely available online – and it may be necessary for you to seek copyright permission.

If you need to obtain copyright permission, do it as soon as you decide you want to use the material – it may take some time to obtain permission, and you don't want to add to your stress load.

To seek copyright permission, you must contact the rights holder in writing. Be as clear as you can about identifying exactly what it is you wish to use.

If 3rd party copyright permission is granted, keep a copy of any letters or emails you receive from the rights holder. Indicate that copyright permission has been granted at the appropriate place in your thesis and acknowledge the reproduced material fully. For example, if you have used an image, add a footnote or caption stating "Permission to reproduce this [image] has been granted by [publisher/author name]".

It is possible that permission will not be granted. You might receive notification that you cannot use the copyrighted material, or you might not hear anything at all. Either way, you will not be able to use the copyrighted material in an electronic version of your thesis. If you have used third party copyrighted material in your thesis, for which permission has not been secured, you must still submit your complete thesis in USIR, along with an edited (redacted) copy with the copyrighted material removed. You might be asked to pay to use the copyrighted material. If this happens, instead of paying you may want to consider depositing an edited version. See this guide for more information on using third party copyright.

Please remember that copyright fair dealing allows you to use it in your bound copy - so you can still use the information you need and write the thesis you want.