Writing Up
Prior to writing up, students must read Academic Regulation A6: Research Degrees, in particular Schedule 6.1 which relates to thesis submission. More information is available in the Notes for Research Students (see document below).
Turnitin UK
To be consistent with taught students in the University and as part of the writing up process, all research students must regularly undertake plagiarism checks on their thesis. This will avoid inadvertently committing plagiarism and allow for the student to check references. It is recommended that students undertake this on a chapter by chapter basis and should be done using the UK University standard software available at TurnitinUK. Each Principal Supervisor has set up a unique submission password within TurnitinUK which their "class" of research students can use to undertake a check. More information on TurnitinUK is provided at:
http://www.submit.ac.uk/static_jisc/ac_uk_index.html.
Additional guidance can be sought at the Department for the Enhancement of Learning, Teaching and Assessment (DELTA) at the following web link: http://www.rgu.ac.uk/delta/learndev/page.cfm?pge=41818.
At the point of submission, all students will have to confirm via the Research Degrees Self Declaration (RDDECL) Form that their whole thesis (excluding appendices) has been checked using the TurnitinUK software and attach the summary report to the RDDECL Form.
Students who have been enrolled for three years as a full-time student are required to pay a continuation fee for the fourth and final year of their study, when they embark on the writing up stage. The fee is paid at the beginning of the writing up period and covers the full session. For part-time research students, fees are paid for five years with the sixth year being designated as the "writing up" year. On payment of this fee, the student receives an ID card which allows them access to University sites and the Library. Students who are permanent members of staff are also liable for this fee, even although they are currently not liable for tuition fees for the first five years of part-time study. For all students who are outwith their maximum period of registration (FT 4 years, PT 6 years), the writing up fee increases £340 per session (figure correct as at September 2009). In addition, any research student who is outwith the original registration period as mentioned above, must apply for an Extension to their Period of Registration by completing Form RDExt.
The writing up fee must then be paid each September/October as part of the student’s learning contract as this acts as continued confirmation of the student’s registration. During the time of writing up, students will still be expected to undertake annual monitoring activities such as the RSR form in Summer each year and continue to maintain contact with their Supervisory Team. If these tasks are not undertaken at appropriate times, the student's continued registration with the University could be at risk.
