The most effective way of removing material in a Word document is by deletion.

In its place, the copyright material can be referenced, or a hyperlink added if the original is available online. A text box with some wording could be added to indicate the removal, for example “Material removed for reasons of copyright”.

Choose ‘Save As’ and rename the document to ensure that the redacted version is separate from the original.

For retrospective theses which are only available in a PDF format, Adobe editing software (such as Adobe Pro DC) features a redaction tool to block out material from view.

Adobe provides help for using its redaction tool.

Adobe will prompt you to save this redacted version as a separate PDF to the original. Save your file using the following naming convention: TitleOfEthesis-SURNAME