keele university code of practice on postgraduate research degrees

1.4.7 Postgraduate Committees are required to maintain accurate records relating to
student progress, specifically relating to work and training completed, and to the
academic progress <strong>of</strong> students.
1.4.8 Postgraduate Committees should ensure that their formal procedures are fair, and
made explicit to all students.
1.5 Schools
1.5.1 Research Training modules may be delivered by various different organisational
units, but it is likely that many will be delivered by Schools.
1.5.2 In addition, Schools have the principal responsibility for MRes students (who are
formally postgraduate taught course students) and for delivering all aspects <strong>of</strong> MRes
programmes. While MRes students are associated mostly with Schools, they may
also be affiliate members <strong>of</strong> Research Institutes, in preparation for application to a
research degree after completion <strong>of</strong> the MRes. This is likely to include the
identification <strong>of</strong> a future Lead Supervisor.
1.6 Research students
1.6.1 Students are expected to familiarise themselves at an early stage with all the relevant
Regulations (particularly Regulation 2D) and the provisions <strong>of</strong> this Code <strong>of</strong> Practice.
1.6.2 Students must ensure that they read their Keele email messages in a timely fashion.
Members <strong>of</strong> the University will communicate with students via the Keele email and it
is the student’s responsibility to respond as appropriate.
1.6.3 The research and the thesis are the work <strong>of</strong> the student, and the student is expected
to take responsibility for the progress <strong>of</strong> their work. During the progress <strong>of</strong> a research
degree, students are expected increasingly to become independent thinkers and
researchers.
1.6.4 Having taken such informed advice as they consider appropriate, students have
responsibility for determining the time <strong>of</strong> submission <strong>of</strong> their theses, within the time
limits established by University Regulations (see section 3.2). It is generally
considered best <strong>practice</strong> for the student and Lead Supervisor jointly to agree that the
thesis is ready for submission.
1.6.5 Students should ensure from the outset that they conduct their research and present
the findings in their thesis in accordance with good research <strong>practice</strong>. On submitting
the thesis a student will be required to sign a Declaration to confirm this as set out in
Annex B1.
If the research degree is set within a broader programme <strong>of</strong> work involving a group <strong>of</strong>
investigators – particularly if this programme <strong>of</strong> work predates the candidate’s
registration – the candidate should provide an explicit statement (in an
‘Acknowledgments’ section) <strong>of</strong> the respective roles <strong>of</strong> the candidate and these other
individuals in relevant aspects <strong>of</strong> the work reported in the thesis. For example, it
should make clear, where relevant, the candidate’s role in designing the study,
developing data collection instruments, collecting primary data, analysing such data,
and formulating conclusions from the analysis. Others involved in these aspects <strong>of</strong>
the research should be named, and their contributions relative to that <strong>of</strong> the candidate
should be specified (this would not apply to the ordinary supervision process, only if
the supervisor or supervisory team has had greater-than-usual involvement).
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