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Tips for LUT thesis supervisors

Public document - publishing options for thesis

Public document

In principle, a thesis is a public document according to law (The Constitution of Finland §12.2; Publicity Act §1 ). The public nature of the thesis means that the metadata and abstract(s) of the thesis are openly available in LUTPub, and the thesis file can be read there or it is available on request.

Publishing options for thesis

  1. Publishing a thesis in the LUTPub publication repository is the primary option. In this case, the metadata and the thesis file are openly available online.

    Students may also agree to a delayed publication (max. 2 years) of their thesis. In this case, the student will  give an embargo date when submitting the thesis in LUTPub. The thesis file will then only open for reading in LUTPub after the end of the embargo period. If a thesis file is requested from the library for reading during the embargo period, it will be handled as a document request and the library will send the thesis file to the requestor by email. Therefore, the thesis file submitted in LUTPub must not contain any confidential content.
     
  2. If the student does not want to publish the thesis in LUTPub, the alternative is to save the file to the LUT archive (instructions). The metadata of the thesis is still available in LUTPub. The thesis can be requested for reading from the LUT's document services (document request).

Accessibility

Accessibility means making online services as easy as possible for different people to use. The accessibility requirements cover a wide range of content and apply to the files contained in online services, including theses and dissertation files. The requirements aim to ensure that online content can be accessed by all people, even those with disabilities or assistive technology. Assistive technology is needed and used by people who have difficulty using information technology, for example because of sensory impairment, illness or cognitive difficulties. Assistive technologies are devices and software that help people to manage and use different devices, and to convey information about content. One example of assistive technology is screen readers. In addition to visible content, screen readers also provide the user with code annotations and information about structure, such as header levels or alternative text for images. 

When writing a thesis, or at the latest when publishing it, the accessibility of the thesis file should be considered.

More information about accessibility:

The use of library's e-resources in theses

Electronic material acquired for the LUT Academic Library is also protected by copyright. The terms of use vary depending on the material in question, as they are dependent on the agreements and terms of use agreed upon by the publishers. It is the responsibility of both the library and the users of the materials to comply with the terms of use for each material as defined in the licence agreements. These agreements define the rights and restrictions on access to the material in question. They apply, for example, to printing, digital copying, linking and referencing. For further information on access rights and restrictions to e-resources, please see the library’s guide.

LUT thesis guidelines and templates for theses

LUT's guidelines and templates for theses are available in eLUT: Bachelor's thesis and Master's thesis. The templates also include instructions and they are updated when needed - the latest version is in eLUT.

Useful links

Questions? Contact us.

If you have any questions, you can email us at lutpub@lut.fi.

Saavutettavuusseloste | Accessibility Statement