For individual research consultations, Candidates should contact the Librarian with the subject expertise (http://www.bates.edu/library/research-services-staff/) for your thesis topic. Librarians can provide assistance with formulating research strategies, conducting comprehensive literature reviews, using bibliographic citation software to manage research findings, and possibly purchasing supporting resources. The Thesis Writers Guide summarizes library support. (http://libguides.bates.edu/thesis_writers).

For copyright questions (http://www.bates.edu/ils/policies/access-use/copyright-for-scarab/) and permissions guidance contact Chris Schiff in Ladd Library (cschiff@bates.edu), 207-786-6274. He can advise candidates on the need for permission to use particular images, music, audio or film clips, charts or other material; how to locate non-protected material; how to obtain permission to use copyrighted material; and how to protect the candidate’s work.

For any questions pertaining to SCARAB, contact Krystie Wilfong (kwilfong@bates.edu), 207-786-6270 or Laura Conforte (lconfort@bates.edu, 207-786-6261 in Ladd Library.

For strategies and techniques when working with large documents and using your word processor’s more sophisticated features as you will with Honors thesis work, the IT Services Desk is essential. They can assist with safely storing thesis drafts, formatting and preparing your thesis with headings, page numbers, and an auto-updating table of contents; and incorporating images, spreadsheets, and figures. Theses that include material in multiple formats and files (e.g., text, images, and audio files), will need to be converted to a zip file to upload onto SCARAB and the IT Services Desk can assist with this conversion.

For more assistance, contact Lee Desiderio, ldeside2@bates.edu.

Writing a thesis should never be a solo endeavor that you struggle and muddle through alone. You’ve got resources! For writing assistance, candidates have support from the Student Academic Support Center in a number of venues, including individual consultations and drop-in tutoring sessions in the Student Writing and Language Center, as well as the Thesis Cafe, Thesis Workshop Series, and other Honors-specific workshops led by Writing specialists. These resources are offered to help Honors candidates at any stage in the process: from brainstorming ideas, to crafting research questions, from writing proposals, abstracts and introductions to writing literature reviews, methods sections and body chapters; we can even help with formatting and putting the finishing touches on your thesis, and we offer a supportive space for you to prepare for your oral defense (but try not to wait that long to come see us)! For more information, please contact the Student Writing and Language Center at swlc@bates.edu.

All Honors candidates submit an initial titled, one-paragraph thesis abstract of 250 words or less to by the date listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist. Abstracts must be submitted via the Thesis Abstract Submission webform on the Honors website.

Once the thesis is complete, students must provide their revised abstract in the Honors Thesis submission form on SCARAB at the same time they upload their thesis.

It is the responsibility of the Honors Candidate to upload their original thesis to SCARAB no later than 4:00pm on the date listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist.

Only the advisor and the examination panel will have access to the first submission of the senior thesis on SCARAB. Consequently, in the initial thesis submission through SCARAB, candidates select “Open Access” with “No Embargo.”

If the thesis is an artistic composition, candidates must upload a written statement. At the oral-examination stage of the process, the thesis will only be available to the examination panel.

To submit, you must have your thesis in an electronic format. SCARAB allows you to upload one thesis file only. The updated abstract is pasted into the SCARAB submission form.

Suggested file types for the thesis are listed below. In cases where a thesis is comprised of multiple files (e.g. an artist statement in addition to composition(s)) you must package all files together in a single zip file. You must then upload the zip file.

If you need help creating zip files, please see the IT Help Desk in Ladd Library.

Suggested File Types

1. From any computer connected to the internet, open a browser and go to: http://scarab.bates.edu/
2. Select “My Account” in the upper right corner. In the “My Bates Portal” box, click on “Log in to your Bates account >>” and enter your Bates username and password.
3. In the “Author Corner” near the bottom of the left-hand column, click the “Submit Research” link.
4. On the “Submit Your Research” screen be sure to complete each of the required fields and then upload the Honors thesis file from your computer and select “Honors Thesis” at the bottom of the page.

1. On the following page, you will find submission instructions and a submission agreement. Check the box to move forward. If your thesis is awarded honors, you and your advisor must sign and submit by the date listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist, the Thesis Access and Embargo form pertaining to the legal aspect of publishing your work. Check the box to confirm that you have read the submission agreement.

2. Click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen to move to the submission form.

You will need to enter the following information into the submission form when you upload your thesis:

1. After completing the descriptive fields, you will be prompted to upload your thesis from the computer. When the form is complete, you should click the “Submit” button. Once clicked, the button text changes from “Submit” to “Processing.” If the upload succeeds, your browser will display a confirmation page. If there is a problem, you will be prompted to correct the error. The upload process may take several minutes depending on the size of the file, so please be patient.

If you need help using SCARAB, please contact Krystie Wilfong or Laura Conforte at batesscarab@bates.edu in Ladd Library.

Each honors thesis culminates in an oral examination before a panel of scholars. Once the thesis is submitted, the advisor and each voting member of the examination panel receive an email with a link to the thesis and an explanation of how to access it. The thesis may also be accessed directly at http://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/.

The procedure for logging onto SCARAB is in the Guide for Panel Access to Honors Thesis.

The email also contains a link to the Individual Evaluation Form. Each voting examiner completes the form before the oral examination and submits the form electronically via the Honors website.

The Honors examination gives the candidate the opportunity to discuss and defend the work before professionals in the field. Each panel consists of a chair, who is usually a Bates faculty member from a department or program other than the candidate’s; a member of the faculty from the candidate’s department or program; and a scholar in the field from another institution. The student’s advisor serves as a non-voting member of the panel. While departments or programs might organize a public presentation of a student’s work, the examination itself is not open to people outside of the panel members and the candidate. A protocol of the oral examination is on the Honors website.

The Honors calendar provides adequate time between submission of thesis and the oral exam to allow the thesis to be studied by the examining panel. The candidate’s Thesis Advisor schedules the date, time, and place of the oral examination.

Prior to the examination, the Thesis Advisor should meet with the student and discuss the exam. As soon as possible after the examination, the Thesis Advisor informs the candidate of the results.

Before the oral examination, each voting panel member will have submitted the Individual Evaluation Form via the website with a typed evaluation of the thesis and a recommendation of Honors, Honors with reservations, or no Honors. The written thesis or performance counts 60% toward the final award and the oral examination counts 40%.

Conduct of the oral examination is the responsibility of the panel chair, who is usually the faculty member from outside the department or program.

The panel chair determines the order in which members question the candidate. The panel chair may wish to begin the process by asking the candidate to give a brief outline of their work or may give the advisor the opportunity to ask an opening question. It is helpful to agree beforehand on the amount of time allotted to each examiner so that all panelists may participate.

Oral examinations normally last about 90 minutes. However, some situations may call for more time. The expectation is that to receive Honors, the submitted written portion and examined thesis should be the equivalent of an “A” thesis. While faculty and the Honors Committee recognize the importance of the growth that occurs during the process of researching and writing the thesis, to receive Honors the student’s submitted product should be an exceptional one. Specific standards and expectations about what constitutes Honors level work are determined by individual departments and programs. 

The panel chair is responsible for submitting the Panel Evaluation Form, which reports the examination results. After the panel chair submits the form, it will automatically be forwarded to each member of the panel to confirm the results with their electronic signature.

• Honors exams usually last 90 minutes.

• The panel chair may wish to begin the process by asking the candidate to give a brief outline of the work or opening statement or give the advisor the opportunity to ask an opening question. Before the oral exam, it is the advisor’s responsibility to discuss with the candidate the oral examination, possible questions, and the candidate’s possible introductory remarks.

• Questioning by the outside examiner typically follows the initial question or opening remarks, followed by the non-departmental/program member and the departmental/program member.

• The advisor may participate to a reasonable extent.

• As the questioning draws to a close or time runs short, the chair invites last questions from the examiners.

• Once the questioning is ended, the candidate is usually invited to make a final statement. For example, the candidate may want to talk about the implications and significance of the findings or research, address the strengths and limitations of their project, or discuss the sort of the research or analysis that might form an appropriate next step. This is the candidate’s last opportunity to make an impression on the committee. The candidate should have the last word.

• The candidate leaves the room.

• The advisor may make a concluding remark or answer questions from the panel. The advisor leaves the room.

• The panel deliberates about both the written thesis and the candidate’s grasp of related issues in the oral component. This final deliberation is key to the award. Remembering that the written thesis is more heavily weighted than the oral component, the panel awards Honors or No Honors.
• If an award of Honors is made but the panel finds an unacceptable number of errors in spelling, grammar, usage, or typing, it may make the award conditional upon corrections. No substantial changes may be made in content or text of the thesis.
• The chair of the Honors Panel marks the Panel Evaluation Form and the examiners sign it.
• The chair asks the candidate and advisor to rejoin the group.
• The chair announces the award of Honors or No Honors. The panel may choose to discuss the award with the candidate.
• The chair announces whether or not the mechanics of the thesis are approved. (See below.)
• The chair thanks the examiners for their time and the advisor and candidate for their work on the thesis.
• The chair submits the Panel Evaluation Form via Adobe Sign immediately after the exam.
• An informal discussion of the thesis project may continue over a meal.

If the panel has awarded Honors but the mechanics of the thesis are not approved, the committee offers the student guidance on what needs to be corrected, possibly including a list of specific corrections. Editorial changes at this stage should be strictly limited to those mechanical corrections requested by the committee; otherwise, the thesis is considered final as originally submitted.

The advisor examines the corrected copy of the thesis and determines its acceptability. Once the mechanics are acceptable to the advisor, the student uploads a corrected copy of the thesis to SCARAB, and the advisor submits the Thesis Correction form, which is available on the Honors website. The deadline for both the final uploading and delivery of the form is listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist.

Only the advisor and the examination panel will have access to the first submission of the senior thesis on SCARAB. Consequently, when initially submitting the thesis the candidates need to select “Open Access” as the level of access for the time being.

If the award of Honors is granted, however, the advisor and student must talk about and decide the accessibility of the thesis and set an appropriate embargo period for the thesis, if one is required. To ensure that this is done, the advisor and student must complete and sign the Thesis Access and Embargo Form and the advisor must submit it electronically no later than 4:00pm on the date listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist. Any thesis granted the award of Honors without an accompanying Thesis Access and Embargo Form will be substituted as an “Archival Access” only file (See “Access” below). Candidates submitting corrected theses or theses from which copyrighted material has been removed will also need to designate the level of access and the period of embargo in SCARAB when they upload their final copy no later than 4:00pm. on the day listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist.

Honors students and their advisors may choose from a number of access options depending on particular circumstances.

• Selecting “Open Access” grants permission to Bates College to distribute the thesis for scholarly and research use to the general public on the internet through SCARAB. If the final version of a thesis complies with fair use in accordance with United States copyright law, the student and advisor may select “Open Access.”

• Selecting “Restricted Access: Campus/Bates Community Only Access” grants thesis access through SCARAB only to the on-campus Bates community via either the secure Bates computer network or a SCARAB login using an active Bates username and password. If the thesis includes copyrighted materials NOT in accordance with the fair use provision of the United States copyright code, the student and advisor must select this designation. When “Restricted Access: Campus/Bates Community Only Access” is selected, those outside the Bates community who would like a copy of a thesis must request it from the Honors candidate or faculty advisor.

• Selecting “Restricted Access: Embargoed [Open Access After Expiration of Embargo]” ensures the thesis is to be made inaccessible to all for a specified length of time (i.e. embargoed) and then made available to all after that embargo period. The embargo can be set for 1, 5, 10, or 15-year periods, after which the thesis will become “Open Access.”

• Selecting “Restricted Access: Embargoed [Bates Community After Expiration of Embargo]” ensures the thesis is to be made inaccessible to all for a specified length of time (i.e. embargoed) and then made available only to the Bates Campus community after that embargo period. The embargo can be set for 1, 5, 10, or 15-year periods, after which the thesis will become “Restricted Access: Campus/Bates Community Only Access.”

• Selecting “Restricted: Archival Copy [No Access]” allows the Honors thesis and associated metadata to be uploaded to SCARAB, but the thesis will be unavailable for viewing or downloading by anyone. A thesis containing sensitive or restricted personally identifiable data is an example of a thesis that could fall in this category.

In some cases, the material that is in excess of fair use is easily identifiable and can be removed (for example documents or images included for the reference of the Honors panel). Provided that the student, with the guidance of the advisor, removes the material that is in excess of fair use, the candidate and advisor may select “Open Access.” This revised final version of the thesis must be uploaded to SCARAB along with a final abstract before the thesis may be marked for access to the public but no later than the date listed on the Honors Timeline Checklist.

To make this decision, it is important that the student and advisor discuss and understand fair use provisions of the United States copyright code. For information about fair use, copyright, and intellectual property, see copyright guidelines.


Embargo

Honors students and their advisors may also assign a period of embargo that prevents all access to the thesis for a period of time. This is common if the student and advisor are planning to publish the findings elsewhere, for instance. Periods of embargo may be 1, 5, 10 or 15 years. If none of the choices are acceptable periods of embargo, select “Restricted: Archival Copy [No Access].” Once a period of embargo is chosen, it cannot be changed. During the period of embargo, those outside the Bates community requesting a copy of the thesis will be referred to faculty advisor or department/program.

Once a student is ready to upload the final version of a thesis to SCARAB, a final approval is required by both the student and advisor to indicate to choose the date to indicate both when the thesis will be available for viewing and the audience to be provided access. The student will receive an email to an online form to select the access level and any embargo date. This goes to the advisor automatically for final approval once the student submits. Failure to complete this form will set the thesis as “Restricted: Archival Copy [No Access].” The online form must be submitted by both the student and advisor before commencement in order for the thesis to be available in SCARAB. For more guidance about access and embargo, please email the chair of the Honors Committee.