Alumni engagement and philanthropy



THESIS DIGITISATION PROJECT AT THE LIBRARY  

01 April 2019

The Library at Queen’s is undertaking an exciting initiative of retrospectively digitising and uploading 100 of the most heavily used theses of the University and making them available online, free of charge through Queen’s Research Portal.

Currently, only the most recent theses are available on the Portal, but there is a back catalogue of theses available in print only, beginning in 1910. Since September 2016 all postgraduate research students and UKRI funded students are required to upload an electronic version of their thesis (in addition to print copies) once they submit.

The purpose of this special project is to widen access to the most heavily used theses, which are a vital source of research. The newly digitised theses will be freely available for anyone with an internet connection to peruse, access and download.

The one hundred theses span a wide array of disciplines and it is anticipated that they will be available to access online by late summer 2019.

This digitisation project will therefore be of great interest to researchers across a wide array of disciplines, including Arts and Humanities, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Management, Education and Social Sciences.

Dr Michael O’Connor, Institutional Repository Officer at the McClay Library said: “The Library considers each thesis to have intrinsic research merit and would encourage all its former graduates who have submitted a Postgraduate research thesis (pre-September 2016) to support us in our digitisation project.

“Each thesis is a significant achievement and the culmination of originality, hard work, dedication, critical thinking, and a considerable amount of self-questioning and sleepless nights!

“It is right to celebrate some of the most heavily used theses by making these easier to access.”

The Library holds approximately 14,000 Queen’s theses. These include notable luminaries such as Rev Robert Allen, 1904-1968 (Presbyterian minister and historian), Sir David Bates, 1916-1994 (eminent mathematician and physicist), Kathleen Cuthbert (née Ferguson), 1920-2016 (translator at Bletchley Park during WW2), Eileen McCracken 1920-1988, (botanist and historian of Botany), Professor Mary (Mollie) McGeown, 1923-2004 (specialist in the treatment of kidney disease) and Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, 1950-2018 (musician and composer).

The first thesis in the Library is William James Wilson, A series of papers embodying original research with regard to the morphological, biological, and serological characters of certain pathogenic bacteria (1910). This was presented for the degree of M.A., which at the time would have been classed as a major thesis. The earliest doctoral thesis held by the Library is Marion Braidfoot Andrew, The class method of treating pulmonary tuberculosis (1910).

The initiative is envisaged as the first phase of a long-term project that will see further print theses digitised in the future.The Library operates a ‘take-down’ policy so if you do not wish for your thesis to be involved in the project, please contact them on the number below. There are no subscriptions, paywalls or need for authentication logins – all part of a wider push to make academic research open access.

For further information about the thesis digitisation project, contact Dr Michael O’Connor on +44 (0)28 9097 6163 or find out more on the Library Blog.

General enquiries about this news story to Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office at Queen’s; tel: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.

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