Depositing into Research@Lincoln

Deposit processing can take up to three working days. During that time, your thesis/dissertation will be checked for an embargo (if requested), formatting, copyright compliance, and the file/s prepared for digital publishing. Please read the following carefully to avoid delays in processing, and feel free to contact us for any further advice.

Final university-approved Lincoln University theses – PhD or Masters, and dissertations, after they have been through examination.

You may also attach associated files, such as maps or spreadsheets, but we recommend depositing larger datasets separately into our data repository Data@Lincoln, and including a link in your thesis instead. Read more about publishing your research data and contact Talia Skinner for more information about Data@Lincoln.

The author of the work should be the one to deposit. If you need someone else to deposit on your behalf, please contact us to authorise your nominated person to deposit.

Third-party copyright

If your thesis includes content from other authors, such as charts, diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps, tables, etc, you must make sure you have permission from the copyright owner to use it. Read more about how to seek permission and note it’s best to start this process as early as possible since it can take time.

Your copyright

By default you, as the thesis author, own your copyright on an “All rights reserved” basis. But you can choose to grant your readers extra permissions by using Creative Commons licences, which makes it easier for other people to share it and raises the profile of your research.  If you don’t have a particular reason to keep it more restricted, Lincoln University encourages using the most open option, a Creative Commons Attribution licence. Read more about your rights as an author.

If you choose a Creative Commons licence, the licence logo will appear on your title page. You will also be asked to select your preferred option when you deposit into Research@Lincoln.

Converting to PDF

Most software will have an option to Save As PDF. If possible, please add the Title/Author/Keywords to the document properties (Ctrl+D) when you do this: 

• Author: your name as it appears on the title page 
• Tags: keywords as listed after your abstract 
• Title: Sentence case, i.e. capitalise only the first word and any names 

You may need to restrict access to your Thesis/Dissertation/Research wholly or in part. For further information about whether a restriction may apply, please refer to the Lincoln University Grounds for Embargo Guidelines. 

Important note: the abstract will always be open access regardless of any embargo. Please contact us if you have any concerns. 

Standard access options include: 

• no restrictions – immediate worldwide open access 
• restricted to Lincoln University community only – remote access available to current staff & students via authentication 
• restrict all access for a period of up to 24 months 

If you believe there are grounds for a restriction (embargo) then you and your Supervisor need to complete an  Embargo Notification Form. Apply any restrictions using the appropriate fields on the form, get an approval from your supervisor, and email the completed form to the addresses on the form. 

When you are depositing your thesis, carefully complete the embargo fields for your thesis/dissertation. You will need to enter the details of your embargo and, for each file you upload manually, select a date for the embargo to end.

Pre-deposit checklist

Before depositing your file(s) to Research@Lincoln please ensure you have completed the following:

• Completed examination/defended
• Received a Completion/Eligibility for Award letter from Student Administration
• Ensure all conditions have been met on the Completion letter (corrections and review)
• Read through the information on this page
• Third Party Copyright? (more information on third-party copyright) 
  • If Yes – ensure all third-party material without permission from the copyright holder has been hidden behind a text box with the words 'Material removed due to copyright compliance'. Have two files ready to upload into your deposit: 
    • One complete version
    • One version with third party copyrighted material hidden.
• Datasets? (more information on datasets)
  • If Yes – upload datasets to Data@Lincoln.
    • Ensure that you include a meaningful title and description that describe the data itself, not your thesis.
    • Link from your thesis to the DOI provided.
•    Embargo? (more information on embargo) 
  •  If Yes – ensure you have completed the Embargo Notification form and emailed it to both addresses provided at the top of the form

•    Converted your file(s) to PDF format 
•    Thought about applying a Creative Commons Licence? (more information on Creative Commons)

Log into Research@Lincoln

When you are ready, click the "PROCEED" button below and click "Lincoln Login" to use your Lincoln University login to deposit your thesis into Research@Lincoln. If your Lincoln password/username has expired, then register with a personal email as an external user and complete your deposit this way.

We require up to three working days to process your deposited files. Please watch your Lincoln University email after your deposit as sometimes we need to check details with you.

Following approval, we will sign off your Graduation Clearance Form.