LSE Theses Online-FAQs

Welcome to LSE Theses Online

LSE Theses Online is the institutional archive for London School of Economics and Political Science's PhD theses. It contains full text versions of theses accepted for the qualification of Doctorate at LSE. These full text versions can be freely downloaded.

What does LSE Theses Online contain?

LSE Theses Online contains full text, final versions of theses accepted for the qualification of Doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

What does LSE Theses Online exclude?

1. LSE theses yet to be examined: We require that all theses added to the service have been examined and accepted for the award of Doctorate at LSE. We check with LSE's Research Degrees Unit to ensure this is the case.
2. Theses awarded by other institutions: LSE academics may wish to deposit a version of their thesis as awarded by another institution. These are eligible for inclusion in LSE Theses Online's sister service, LSE Research Online. Please contact the LSE Research Online team for further information.
3. Other LSE research: LSE Theses Online's sister service, LSE Research Online, is LSE's institutional repository for research outputs. It covers a wide variety of types of research output. Further information on the service can be found at LSE Research Online's FAQ pages.

What rights do thesis authors retain?

Copyright/ IPR for all items in this repository is retained by the individual authors and/ or copyright owners and moral rights are reserved. Specific works may have been assigned a Creative Commons use licence: where this is the case the individual publications are clearly marked.

I have downloaded a thesis held in LSE Theses Online. In what ways may I re-use it?

You are entitled to re-use material from a thesis in the same way you would from any other source, i.e. by providing a full citation to the thesis in question, and by not re-using material in a way that may breach copyright or other IPR rights (e.g. by quoting extensive sections of a thesis). For further information on copyright for research, please see the Joint Information Services Committee's guide, Copyright matters for UK researchers, teachers and learners.

How are theses added to LSE Theses Online?

We currently gain theses to add to the service in a number of ways:

1. By individual authors sending them to us. We then check with LSE's Research Degrees Unit that the thesis has been accepted, then catalogue and add it to the service.
2. As a result of digitisation work for theses done by the Library. An example of this is LSE's History of Thought project, supported by the LSE Annual Fund, which digitised selected notable LSE theses.
3. From the 2011-2 session, once a successfully completed PhD is completed, students provide a final copy in electronic form to LSE Theses Online (previously a hard copy was stored in the Library).
4. By monitoring the British Library's EThOS service, which digitises theses on demand. The LSE Theses Online team will contact authors whose thesis has been digitised in this way, and ask them for permission to archive it in LSE Theses Online

All theses are in the repository as a result of receiving permission from the thesis author to do so.

I am a current PhD student at LSE. Will my thesis be included in LSE Theses Online?

From the 2011-2 session once you have successfully completed your PhD, you will be asked to provide a final copy in electronic form (previously a hard copy was stored in the Library) to LSE Theses Online. Full instructions on how to submit your thesis to the repository will be provided to you by the Research Degrees Unit on successful completion of your PhD.

How do I get permissions to include third party copyright material in my thesis?

You will need to contact the rights holder to request permissions to include material protected by copyright in your thesis. Publishers often include details of copyright permissions and contact details on their website. You may want to use our template for contacting copyright holders. Please note, if the copyright holder does not respond, this does not mean permission has been granted.

What should I do if I get permission to include copyright material in my thesis?

Please indicate at the appropriate point in the body of your thesis that you have received permission to include copyright protected material and save any correspondence with copyright holders.

What if I can’t get copyright clearance for copyright material included in my thesis?

If you have taken reasonable steps but cannot gain permission to include material protected by copyright in your thesis, you will need to submit two electronic versions to LSE Theses Online:

1. Final version of your thesis
2. Publicly available electronic version – an edited version with all uncleared third party copyright material removed. If you do remove material from your thesis, please indicate where material has been removed using the following message: This [delete where appropriate] image/photo/screenshot/map/graph, [insert title or short description], has been removed as the copyright is owned by another organisation. LSE Theses Online will preserve both copies of your thesis but only upload the publicly available version to LSE Theses Online.

Alternatively, if you have made reasonable efforts to contact the copyright owner, we can add your thesis to LSE Theses Online and make use of our take-down policy if contacted by copyright holders.

What is fair dealing and criticism and review and what does this cover?

When reviewing the inclusion of third party copyright content in your thesis, you may be protected by fair dealing or criticism and review. For more details see here.

What are the responsibilities of the LSE Theses Online team and the Library?

In hosting LSE theses, the LSE Theses Online team, and the Library, guarantees the following:

1. LSE Theses Online will only include theses for which permission to include in the archive has been received.
2. LSE Theses Online will attempt to gain as many LSE theses to add to the service as possible, making its coverage of theses as comprehensive as possible.
3. LSE Theses Online will catalogue theses to internationally recognised standards, allowing their search and discoverability via the internet.
4. LSE Theses Online will guarantee the preservation of the theses contained in the repository.

Where can I get copyright advice?

We encourage you to seek advice on copyright issues throughout the process of writing your thesis. Understanding copyright issues is important preparation for future academic publishing.

For queries regarding copyright and submitting your electronic thesis, please contact LSEThesesOnline@lse.ac.uk.

For general copyright advice, please contact Jane Secker, Digital Literacy and Copyright Advisor: j.secker@lse.ac.uk

I wish to add my thesis to the service/ have a query about the service- how do I get in touch?

The LSE Theses Online team can be contacted with submissions and queries at: LSEThesesOnline@lse.ac.uk.