eThesis explained

You may need some basic information in order to decipher the official university site on eThesis, so before we take you there, read this to clearly understand the issue and your rights:

What is an eThesis?

An electronic copy of your thesis.

What is the ARROW repository?

The ARROW repository is an electronic repository for holding research, including theses. However there are two distinct parts to the repository:

1. The internal section – this is for research stored by Monash University primarily for archival purposes. Research stored in this part of the repository is made available to authorised persons for non-commercial personal research purposes only.

2. The external section – this is for research stored on the world wide web. Research stored in this part of the repository is accessible by anyone with access to the internet. For example, it can be pulled up through a Google search.

What has been made compulsory for research students at Monash?

You must submit an electronic copy of your thesis to the library once your examination is complete. Your eThesis will be held in the internal section of the ARROW repository. However, there are some parts of your thesis that will be held in the external section of the repository and they are: bibliographic details, title and abstract.

Candidates enrolled under a cotutelle arrangement, Staff PhD, MD (unsupervised) and MPhil degrees are exempt from submitting an eThesis.

Can postgraduates choose to publish their entire thesis in the external section of ARROW?

You can elect to publish the full text of your thesis online in the external section of the ARROW repository. This means that:

• Your thesis will be publicly available

• You retain copyright but grant the university a non-exclusive licence to publish on ARROW

• You change your thesis from being considered an ‘academic document’ to a ‘publication’ in relation to the copyright act. Once the thesis is classified as a publication, you can no longer rely on the fair dealing provisions in the Copyright Act to protect you from breach of copyright when reproducing third-party works in your thesis. Therefore you will need to seek permission to reproduce third-party material that would have normally fallen under the fair dealing provisions when submitting a hardcopy thesis.

What is an embargo?

You can apply for a 3 year embargo which means that your thesis cannot be accessed by anyone without your permission, for three years. You must still submit an electronic copy to the library for archiving in the internal section of the ARROW repository. However, only your title and abstract will be made available on the external section of the ARROW repository. You can choose to remove confidential material from your abstract if necessary. You can also request an embargo for longer than 3 years.

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