[Paper 3]

EDUCATION COMMITTEE/ RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Graduate Panel

Digital copies of theses for research degree examinations

(a)Summary

Following last term’s consideration of digital thesis submissions,the Panel is asked to support a proposal to trial the use of Dropbox during 2014/15 academic year. Review of the trial will confirm whether or not this is an appropriate permanent solution.

(b)Action required

The Panel is asked to approve the following proposals:

a)DropBox for Business to be implemented for Michaelmas Term 2014 to pilot collection and distribution of digitalresearch degree theses in a single division;

b)Digital copies of research degree thesesto be made available to examiners, on request, in this division subject to their agreement to our terms and conditions, without further permission being required;

c)Funding for a long-term solutionto be sought, initially to be investigated by IT Services’ Learning Technologies team.

(c)Background

  1. Panel members will recall discussion at the last meeting of a proposal from Examinations Panel that candidates for research degrees should submit a digital copy of their thesis at the same time as submission of the paper version. The Panel was supportive of the proposal in principle, and of further work to identify the best IT solution to support the process, but concerns about possible implications for the protection of data and Intellectual Property rights were registered.The Examinations and Assessments Team has now carried out further work on this proposal.

Practice at other universities

  1. A survey of other Russell Group universities indicates that while our current practice is not dissimilar to those at other institutions, there is an increasing requirement for students to submit a digital copy in addition to the printed copies of their thesis (see Annex A). Two further Russell Group universities have recently contacted us regarding ways in which to implement collection and distribution of digital copies of theses for examination, suggesting more universities are likely to introduce this requirement.

Methods available for digital thesis submission

  1. A survey of other universities indicated that there are several methods already in use by institutions for receipt and issuing of digital copies of theses for examination:
  • CD/USB submission
  • Direct email of digital copy
  • eTheses
  • In-house digital upload portal
  • Open-source software package(s)
  • File sharing systems
  1. To provide a useable service for Oxford University, it would need to have the capacity to handle up to 3000 submissions a year, guarantee the ability of large files to be delivered/accessed safely and securely without causing IT problems at either end, a clear instruction on the non-use of the Turnitin database and plagiarism check (to avoid issues with publishing at a later date), and a minimal increase in workload for the administrative and academic staff involved.
  2. Full analysis of the different options for collecting, and distributing, digital copies of theses is provided below in Annex B.

Recommendations

  1. In evaluating the different options available, the following factors have been considered.
  • Security
  • Ease of use
  • Capacity (storage and/or transfer)
  • Accessibility
  • Cost to University
  • Impact on administrative team (research degrees team, hereafter RDT)
  • Roll out timing (taking into account required development work)

SCALE: + poor++ medium +++ good

Security / Ease of Use / Capacity / Accessibility / Cost / Impact on RDT / Roll-out / Score
CD/USB / + / +++ / +++ / +++ / +++ / + / Immediate / 14
Email / + / +++ / + / +++ / +++ / + / Immediate / 12
eTheses / +++ / +++ / +++ / +++ / ? / ? / ? / 12+
Bespoke system / + / >2015/16 / ?
Weblearn /Turnitin / +++ / + / +? / ++ / ++ / + / 2015/16 / 10
Dropbox / +++ / +++ / +++ / +++ / ++ / +++ / Immediate / 17
  1. Using the above table to assess the different systems both quantitatively and qualitatively, the best option at present would be to use Dropbox for the trial year, while investigating further developments of WebLearn or a bespoke system as a longer term solution.
  2. Assuming the legal documentation and user agreement for Dropbox is of the standard required by the University’s Legal Services, limited roll-out could be in place by the start of the 14/15 academic year.

Protection of Intellectual Property

  1. Under current processes, should an examiner wish to have a digital copy of a thesis,they must notify the Research Degrees Team (RDT) who then make a request to the Senior Proctorfor permission. The examiner is asked to confirm that he or she will respect all relevant copyright limitations, as for the paper copy. Once permission has been given, RDT request a PDF copy of the thesis from the candidate and then send it to the examiner. In the case of larger files, a file-transfer system such as Dropbox has been used.
  2. If a thesis has been sent via email without permission there are particular problems of protecting the University’s Intellectual Property, and that of third parties:

i)If an unauthorised copy is sent before examiners are appointed, the original examiners may decline the invitation, but may nonetheless retainan electronic copy of the thesis.

ii)Examiners are not bound by the conditions of their appointment, including copyright, until they have accepted their invitation to examine. This is of particular concern where there is likely to be a request to embargo the thesis for intellectual property (IP) reasons.

Scope of digital thesis requirement

  1. Examinations Panel recommended compulsory digital submission alongside the soft-bound copy. This would avoid delays for examiners where they request a digital copy, and might reduce the likelihood of variations in content between the digital and soft-bound versions.
  2. Examinations Panel also recommended thatexaminers be invited to request a digital copy if they wished at appointment stage. In the event of a move to digital submission, the Research Degrees Team would amend the invitation to examiners correspondence to include this option, indicating that the terms and conditions (covering confidentiality, intellectual property) apply to both digital and hardcopy versions.

Proposal for a trial with limited scale

  1. The Research Degrees Team would like to proceed cautiously with a roll-out of digital thesis submission as there are unknown factors at this point. It is proposed that initially a trial is carried out over two terms, Michaelmas 2014 – Hilary 2015, with a division that is keen to participate. Students would need clear guidance that they were expected to submit a digital copy, and supporting paperwork can be produced for that division. Students could not be penalised for withholding a digital copy as submission would not have the force of regulation; however, with the support of supervisors and departments within a single division there is a good chance of a realistic dry-run before proceeding with a change to the general regulations.
  2. There are promising indications that the Medical Sciences division would be willing to participate in the trial. Both doctoral and the small number of masters by research theses would be included in order to make the new arrangement as simple as possible.
  3. The Team would hope to evaluate:
  4. how the technology and administrative systems cope with the digital submissions;
  5. what additional resources might be needed to support a full-scale implementation;
  6. what other factors (involving student, examiner, administrator) need to be resolved;
  7. The potential demand from examiners.
  8. The Panel is asked to approve the following proposals:
  9. DropBox for Business to be implemented for Michaelmas Term 2014 to pilot collection and distribution of digitalresearch degree theses in a single division;
  10. Digital copies of research degree theses to be made available to examiners, on request, in this division subject to their agreement to our terms and conditions, without further permission being required;
  11. Funding for a long-term solution to be sought, initially to be investigated by IT Services’ Learning Technologies team.

(d)Further information

Further information may be obtained from Nicola Cooper-Harvey, Head of Examinations & Assessments (; (2)76911) or Amanda Tattersall, Examiners & Submissions Manager (; (2) 86283).

[Paper 3][Annex A]

Annex A – Russell Group comparison

Institution / No of bound copies for viva / Digital copy for Viva / Digital copy for Final Submission / Embargoed?
Soft / Other / By request / Optional / Required / TurnItIn check / Method / Final / Method
Birmingham / 2 / Y / Y / TurnItIn / Y / EThOS / application req'd
Bristol / 2 / N / application req'd
Cardiff / 2 / Y / orca.cf.ac.uk / application req'd
Cambridge / 2 / Y / Y / D-Space / application req'd
Durham / 2 / Y / EThOS / application req'd
Edinburgh / 2 / Y / CD/DVD / application req'd
Exeter / 2 / Y / Y / e-Theses / application req'd
Glasgow / 3 / Y / Enlighten / application req'd
Imperial / 2[1] / See footnote / Y (see footnote) / Y / Spiral / application req'd
KCL / 2 / Y / CD/USB stick. Online depository about to be launched. / application req'd
Leeds / 2 / Y (>Sept 2009) / pdf e-thesis copy in a pocket at back of thesis (assume CD?) / Y (>Sept 2009) / pdf e-thesis (assume CD?) / application req'd
Liverpool / 2 / Y (>01/08/2008) / application req'd
LSE / 2 / Y / application req'd
Institution / No of bound copies for viva / Digital copy for Viva / Digital copy for Final Submission / Embargoed?
Soft / Other / By request / Optional / Required / TurnItIn check / Method / Final / Method
Queen's University, Belfast / 2 / N / unclear
Sheffield / 2 / Y / cd/dvd / Y / White Rose eTheses Online / application req'd
Southampton / 3 / Y / CD / USB / ePrintsSoton / application req'd
UCL / 2 / Y / UCL's Research Publications Service / application req'd
Warwick / 2 / Y / pdf CD / Y / Warick Research Archive Portal / application req'd
York / 2 / Y (>Oct 2009) / CD/USB/DVD / Y / online repository / application req'd
Manchester / 2 / eScholar printout has to be bound into softbound thesis to prove submission / Y / eScholar / Y / eScholar / student choice
Newcastle / 2 / Y / cd/memory stick / varies according to funder
Nottingham / 2 / Y / Etheses / application req'd
Queen Mary / 2 / Y / QML File Exchange Service / Y / QML File Exchange Service / application req'd

[Paper 3][Annex B][Annex A]

Annex B – analysis of technical solutions

  1. CD/USB submissions

The use of CD/USB submission of digital thesis copies is an obvious but perhaps outdated mode of submission. The CD/USB could be sent directly to the examiner with the soft-bound copy of the thesis but there would be two major problems with this:

  1. ensuring the data is virus free
  2. the absence of media ports on net books, tablets, and some laptops

This would ultimately mean that the digital submissions would have to be checked by our staff first. Whilst the time taken to receive the submission is minimal, staff in the Research Degrees Team (RDT) would then be required to manually open and upload each thesis onto the office shared drive, deal with any viruses, incompatibility issues and then find a safe and secure method to deliver the large files to their destination. Even if the CD/USB stick was sent on to the examiner, a copy would have to be kept in case they were using a device that didn’t have the required media ports.

There is also the inevitable problem that some files may be corrupted, or of a non-standard file type which the examiner cannot open.

Overall, this method would be time consuming and not address the file-sharing issues with examiners (see below).

  1. Direct email

This option is not suitable for large files. When used in the past, emails have frequently beenrejected by the recipient’s mailbox due to their file size. The RDT is also in constant communications with IT regarding the capacity of its own email account (despite extensive archiving) which is constantly nearing full-capacity.

  1. Analysis of digital submission methods
  2. eTheses

This system is adopted by Imperial College where students are required to upload a digital copy of their thesis which is then used to initiate the processing of their submission. eTheses prints the soft-bound copies of their thesis and sends them directly to the examiners. This method could also forward a digital copy of the thesis and would ensure that both the digital and soft-bound copies are the same. However, it will incur an increase cost to some students who currently print their thesis in the department and just pay for binding. Whether an interim subsidy should be offered would need to be considered. Ultimately this system would be ideal but would result in a single supplier of thesis printing which could potentially cause problems with the current printing and binding centres in Oxford.

  1. In-house software package

Oxford University uses the Oxford Research Archive for the uploading and storing of the digital copy of a candidate’s final approved thesis which is required, along with a hard bound copy for the Bodleian Library, before they can have their degree conferred. However, theses stored in ORA are either Open Access or embargoed, there is no middle ground, so it would be unsuitable to use for this purpose.

Oxford University Databanks – this is a pilot being used for the storage of academic research files or data packages. Files can be stored as open access, embargoed, or as private instances where access is restricted to specific individuals. However, the method by which files are currently received or sent is via email or a data file transfer system. There is the potential to change this but as the system is still currently in the pilot stage, not overly user friendly, and its capabilities of handling larger volumes of data unknown, it may be preferable to have something specific built for our purposes.

What would the requirements be for a purpose built system be?

As there does not appear to be an off-the-shelf system available for the requirements we have, a purpose built system may be our best option, cost permitting. A combination of the uploading capabilities of the ORA webportaland the storage/correspondence capabilities of Dropbox.

Requirements

  • Webportal where candidates upload a digital copy of their thesis – login using single sign-on
  • An in-built virus scanner
  • The ability to handle approximately 3000 submissions a year.
  • A submission form which will generate the package ID (OSS number, surname, Division) and basic content information (Title, supervisors, college etc)
  • A receipt email generated on completion of submission which must then be enclosed with the soft-bound submission – could also incorporate declaration that the digital and hard copies are the same.
  • A tool which enables individual data packages to be shared with specific people (both inside and outside the university) and the generation of email notifications with a live link – examiners would then access the site and after going through a list of security questions (the unique identifiers being the candidate OSS number and users email address) and user agreements, be able to download a copy of the pdf. Following the conclusion of the examination process, access rights would be rescinded and the thesis archived.
  • An archive facility

Having had an in-depth discussion with Neil Jefferies (ORA) about the above requirements, the Open Journal System (OJS) from the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) was suggested as a starting point.

  1. Public Knowledge Project

The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) is a multi-university initiative developing (free) open source software and conducting research to improve the quality and reach of scholarly publishing. PKP maintains related but separate applications implementing workflows for conference papers, journal articles, and scholarly monographs. The Open Journal System (OJS) is theirjournal management and publishing system and the Open Monograph Press (OMP) is their platform for managing the editorial workflow required to see monographs, edited volumes and, scholarly editions through the internal and external review process and more.

  1. Open Journal System

OJS assists with every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing. OJS should not be confused with an Open Access System. We would be interested in using the system up until the online publication step, at which point ORA would take over.

OJS Features

  1. OJS is installed locally and locally controlled.
  2. Editors configure requirements, sections, review process, etc.
  3. Online submission and management of all content.
  4. Subscription module with delayed open access options.
  5. Comprehensive indexing of content part of global system.
  6. Reading Tools for content, based on field and editors’ choice.
  7. Email notification and commenting ability for readers.
  8. Complete context-sensitive online Help support.
  1. Open Monograph Press

Open Monograph Press (OMP) is an open source tool for managing and publishing monographs, edited volumes, and scholarly editions over the Web. It is a highly flexible editor-operated book management and publishing system that can be downloaded for free and installed on most web servers. OMP more closely aligned to that of the thesis examination.

Issues

OMS is currently not available for Windows. OJS can be used in a Windows setting but having raised a query about downloading a copy to try out, the security issues surrounding its use and the work needed to make is useable is beyond the scope of IT Services.

Having spoken to Manchester University, who developed their own interface to a system built from a variety of open source software packages, this may prove costly both time wise and financially. The Manchester University eScholar system took 18mths-2yrs to complete with two full-time programmers and an assistant working on the project. However, they are happy to help us with our work if they can.

  1. File sharing systems

There are a variety of file-sharing systems available that do not involve the physical movement of the file by email but that send email notifications/invitations to view/download a file via a secure authorisation process.

The University’s own file sharing service (SSH Secure File Transfer Client) cannot be used by external examiners as users need to have an active Oxford Account. OXfile is insecure and the URLs are guessable. Sharepoint also cannot be used due to file sizes and inaccessibility to external users. Two other alternatives are Weblearn and externally provided file-sharing systems such as Dropbox.

  1. Weblearn

Weblearn is currently used by a small number of courses for their taught degree online submissions. Due to the technicalities involved with anonymising data, and the impending SITS go-live, the pilot was restricted and was never rolled out on a large scale. Using the site for research degree thesis submissions would be possible but poses different technical challenges – each candidate has to be able to upload their work and then ONLY the individuals examining their thesis being able to access it. This can be done through the use of Weblearn Resources but involves the creation of individual student folders and user subgroups. Whilst not difficult for a small number of students or courses, when posed with the volume that the research degrees team deals with in a year (particularly in Michaelmas Term), a more automated work flow would have to be developed and might not be possible for each part. At present, uploads are restricted to 60MB of data (most theses are well within this limit). If a file is larger, the student has to use webdav. to upload their pdf and this requires them downloading the software. This also poses a problem with storage on the server. Files will need to be retained until the examination period is over (over 90% would have their leave to supplicate within a year), and therefore would be backed up on a daily basis.