kingston university dissertations

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About the Repository

What is the kingston university research data repository.

The Kingston University Research Data Repository is an "open access" digital archive for the data produced by Kingston University staff and researchers during their research activity. It has been established to provide a deposit service for academic staff and researchers, supported by the University's Research, Business and Innovation Office.

Where possible the details of each item described in the archive will include a link to a freely available electronic copy of a dataset underpinning published research findings. Where there are restrictions on access to the data, details of how/if it can be accessed will be provided.

Benefits of depositing research

By storing and making available our research datasets via the Research Data Repository we will be helping the worldwide scholarly research community to discover and retrieve the work of Kingston University researchers.

Advantages for researchers

Repository policies.

See the dedicated policy information page

Other institutions with research data repositories

Many other institutions are establishing open access repositories for research data.

• University of Edinburgh
• University of Bath
• University of Sheffield

Copyright concerns

Before you deposit data in the repository, it is important that you make sure that

• you have all the rights to make the data available and/or you have received permission from all other right-holders. Please note that if the repository receives proof of copyright violation, the relevant item(s) will be removed immediately. Other right-holders (for example data collectors, performers, people documented in audio-visual form) must have agreed that the data can be shared on the repository, and on the specific licence the data is made available under
• you have fully cited any underlying "source" data
• you have sufficiently anonymised your data, or obtained explicit consent from any data subjects whose identity could be revealed from the data (including images)
• you understand the rights you are passing on to the repository (Kingston University – see deposit agreement and Policies section), for example regarding file retention/migration and withdrawal of items.

This site is powered by EPrints 3 , free software developed by the University of Southampton.

Contact Information

Any correspondence concerning this specific repository should be sent to [email protected] .

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Home > Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment > Research > Research degrees > Preparing a proposal

How to prepare a research proposal

A crucial part of a research application is the research proposal. This page provides some guidance on writing a research proposal and includes some suggestions on what to include and what to avoid.

Normally a proposal should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words and will include the following:

• A working title of the topic area: This should do more than convey the key words associated with the proposed research, it should describe the content and direction of your project.
• General overview of area:  This should provide a brief overview of the wider background of the proposed research and identify the discipline(s) within which it falls. You might also refer to the way in which your own background gives you competences in your chosen area.
• Identification of the relevant literature:  In this section you should develop your proposal to demonstrate that you are aware of the debates and issues raised in relevant bodies of literature, and provide evidence for why you believe your research is needed, using an analysis of published work. References to key articles and texts should be made to show that you appreciate their relevance to your research area. You should demonstrate that your proposed area has not been studied before, so you need to identify your niche which will lead on to the thesis preparation.
• Key research questions: Since you need to demonstrate that the topic can be completed within the normal time period allowed, you need to show that it is manageable, and so focus on key questions within your niche area.
• Aims and objectives:  State specific aims and objectives of the research to be undertaken, in a logical sequence.
• Methodology:  You need to show how you anticipate achieving your aims, and demonstrate an awareness of the methodological tools available to you and show some understanding of which would be suitable for your research. It may be that a qualitative method, including the analysis of interviews, is appropriate. Alternatively your approach may involve forecasting or statistical, financial or econometric modelling. In other cases you may be combining methodologies. You need to specify the approach you feel will be most appropriate. You should include a back-up plan or risk mitigation in case of unforeseen problems.
• Timescale/research planning: You need to demonstrate an awareness of the need for planning and the timescale of the research. Your timescale should be realistic, taking into account the requirement for upgrade monitoring (PhD applicants) and timely thesis submission. The timeline should show which aspects of the project you will be completing in each year of registration and the anticipated time required for each, and time for writing up the thesis (by the end of month 36 for full-time or month 72 for part-time) should be included. Please note:  use month 1, 2, 3 etc in the timeplan/Gantt chart, not calendar months.
• Upgrade Monitoring Report (9-10M FT, 20-22 M PT)
• 2nd year Annual Monitoring Report (21-22M FT, 42-44M PT)
• 3rd year Annual Monitoring Report (33-34M FT, 66-68M PT)
• PhD Thesis Submission or Application for Writing Up Extension (36M FT, 72M PT)
• Apply for Research Ethics Approval (1-6M FT, 1-12M PT)
• Discipline-specific Training (1-9M FT, 1-18M PT)
• Complete Draft Literature Review (6-15M FT, 12-30M PT)
• Data Collection/field work (3-18M FT, 6-36M PT)
• Data Analysis / Experiments / Methodology (ongoing 6-36M FT, 12-72M PT)
• 1st year Internal (seminar/conference) presentation: (6-12M FT, 12-24M PT)
• 2nd year Internal/external (seminar/conference) presentation: (12-24M FT, 24-48M PT)
• 3rd year Internal (seminar/conference) presentation: (24-36M FT, 48-72M PT)
• Bibliography: You should include a short list of references to key articles and texts included in the application.
• Broad topic areas which would be unmanageable as research topics
• Vague descriptions of research areas
• Subject areas where your chosen school has no expertise.
• Plagiarism (for more information, please see Policies and regulations )

Research degrees

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Finding Theses and Dissertations

• Queen's University Theses
• Canadian Theses
• United States Theses
• International Theses
• Borrowing & Purchasing Copies of Theses

A theses or dissertation is an extended body of research produced by students for a higher degree such as a Masters or PhD, or an extended essay undertaken as part of an undergraduate program of study. This guide includes information about how to locate print and electronic theses or dissertations produced by students at Queen’s as well as those produced by students at other institutions, both in Canada and overseas.

Useful websites to locate graduate theses

Many universities now make graduate theses available to the world via search engines like Google.   This page provides a list of online repositories and search tools to locate theses, both completed and in-progress.

Also see the links on the top left for additional resources to locate Queen's theses as well as those produced at other Canadian and International Institutions. 

OpenDOAR - Directory of Open Access Repositories : OpenDOAR is a global directory of University repositories including theses, research articles and other open access research.

PQDT Open : PQDT Open provides the full text of open access dissertations and theses.   Locate dissertations and theses relevant to your discipline, and view the complete text in PDF format.

PhdData.org: maintained by a small community of graduate students, PhdData.org is a free index of doctoral dissertations in-progress.  Indexing of theses in this index is entirely voluntary and therefore coverage is patchy.

Thesis Commons : a new, cloud-based, open-source platform for the submission, dissemination, and discovery of graduate and undergraduate theses and dissertations from any discipline.  Launched in August 2017 by The  Center for Open Science  (COS), it is currently a small collection.

TIP: In instances where an individual student or faculty member has requested access to a copy of a thesis or dissertation from another university, either purchased by the Library, or purchased by an individual student or faculty member and later donated to the library collection, the item may be available in  OMNI  the Library Catalogue.

• Next: Queen's University Theses >>
• Last Updated: Aug 12, 2024 9:02 AM
• Subjects: Scholarly Publishing