Guest post by Michael Brennan, Political Editor of the Sunday Business Post.

Every year, there are hundreds of theses completed by students of political science. Some may make it into academic journals and others are the source material for articles in the opinion pages of newspapers or are highlighted by the Political Studies Association of Ireland on this website, in their journal or at their conferences. But I imagine that the majority are known only to the student and their thesis supervisor.

Over the years, I have had many calls from students in political science, seeking interviews in relation to their theses. Many have sent on the finished theses, and they often give a valuable perspective on Irish politics. It is my belief that there are many political theses out there which contain interesting research which deserves a wider audience.

Some may prompt news stories, some may lead to political features and others could be the source of columns for the opinion pages in newspapers like ours. In an internet-era, it is also very easy to make the full thesis available on websites like our own (www.businesspost.ie). That tends to put an end very quickly to any claims that research has not been thorough or has been misinterpreted.

Given the level of effort that goes into the best political theses, it seems a shame that some of them are gathering dust in a university library – or more likely, remaining unopened on a computer hard drive.

Michael Brennan is political editor of the Sunday Business Post. If you have completed a thesis that throws new light on an area of political science, he can be contacted at michael.brennan@sbpost.ie.