The Benefits of eTheses
How many times do you think a thesis on a library shelf will ever be taken down? The answer is probably a lot less than you might think - anecdotal evidence suggests that a printed thesis may only ever be consulted six times over the author's lifetime.
Do you think your work deserves better? We do!
In this section you can read more about the benefits of etheses and how they can help ensure your research gets the attention it deserves.
Benefits for You
Submitting an electronic copy of your thesis and having this added to a repository like the Leicester Research Archive can bring a number of benefits both to you and your work.
Easier Access
Etheses are much more accessible than printed theses - adding your thesis to the Leicester Research Archive means that it will be accessible to the worldwide research community, significantly improving the chances that you work will be viewed, consulted, and cited. Evidence from the United States suggests that theses available electronically are accessed hundreds of times more often that those available only in print.
So having your thesis available electronically massively increases its visibility.
Increased Visibility
Increasing the visibility of your work also increases your visibility as a researcher and that is particularly important as you look to take your first steps into your career beyond your degree. Adding your thesis to the Leicester Research Archive will also give you a permanent and stable URL for your work to which you can direct potential employers, research collaborators, and funders. It is then both a way to make your mark as a researcher as well as a powerful career development tool.
And do not forget that adding your thesis to the Leicester Research Archive is easy and free - all you need to do is send an electronic copy of your thesis to the Leicester Research Archive team.
Recognition for You
Finally, it is important to remember just how much effort you will have put into your thesis by the time of your final submission. Your thesis is the culmination of your research degree and it deserves as wide an audience as possible. At the University of Leicester we are very proud of our postgraduate researchers - our research has world-changing impact and research students are a key part of the University's research community.
Through the Leicester Research Archive we hope to give you and your work the profile that it deserves.
Benefits for the University
Making your thesis available through the Leicester Research Archive brings with it a number of benefits for you, but there are also a number of benefits for the University:
- the University's research profile is raised with etheses providing an international "shop window" for our postgraduate research - this helps to demonstrate the strength of the University's postgraduate researchers and helps to attract the next generation of researchers
- research outputs can be catalogued and archived securely ensuring long-term digital preservation
- researchers benefits from improved accessibility to research outputs with more convenient access to a much broader range of the University's research outputs
Ultimately, we hope the Leicester Research Archive will bring benefits both to the University's research community as well as to the University as a research institution.
