University of Tasmania, Australia

Including Publications and Copyright Material in a Thesis policy

May 2012  

The full policy is available here (PDF 144KB).

Policy statement

1    Intent

This policy is to assist higher degree research (HDR) candidates and supervisors with the preparation of theses that include copyright material, published or co-published work prepared during candidature.  The preparation of publications, while commendable and encouraged, should not prevent submission of the thesis within the maximum degree period.

FAQ: How should I coordinate publication timeframes within the maximum degree period?

A: Candidates and supervisors should plan publications to be used in a thesis well in advance of thesis submission. Early discussions should  include an analysis of the way information is disseminated within the disciplinary field. This will provide the candidate with a realistic impression of the length of time it takes a paper to get published. For instance, in some science disciplines major journals have ten editions in a year, whereas the major journals in education may publish biannually.

Candidates planning to attend a conference may need to write an abstract (or the paper) up to a year in advance of the conference. Candidates intending to write for a journal will need to account for the following in developing timelines and these will vary depending on the subject area:  submission and acknowledgment from the journal editor (usually about 3 weeks), the amount of time it takes the journal to review the article (usually between 2-4 months at a minimum), the amount of time it takes to amend the paper in response to the reviewers (usually between 1-3 months), the final submission of the paper, and final publication (which can be up to 18 months after the final accepted submission).  Candidates should work closely with their supervisors during these stages as supervisors can advise on the publication process for the discipline.

Candidates should not delay thesis submission due to the preparation of manuscripts or waiting for the paper(s) to be accepted for publication or published.

It should be remembered that paraphrasing or referencing one’s own published work, rather than reproducing a published paper in the thesis is another valid method of incorporating publication/s into a thesis.

2    Scope

This policy applies to all higher degree research candidates at the University of Tasmania. It does not apply to doctors of letters or honorary doctorates.

3    Objective(s)

A thesis incorporating published papers or material as a minor or major part encourages completion within the maximum degree period, adds value to the candidature experience, reinforces a curriculum vitae, enhances career prospects and improves the publications outputs and research  ranking of the University of Tasmania.

FAQ: Why should a candidate publish during candidature?

A: It is increasingly common for a candidate to publish aspects of their HDR findings throughout candidature. This has the important effect of subjecting the research to peer review prior to thesis examination; allowing the candidate to develop a working knowledge of disciplinary conventions and; fostering an appreciation of the formal conventions for discourse within their discipline. Some advantages of using publications in a thesis are that:

• HDR candidates are advantaged in postdoctoral, academic and other professional job applications if they have published or prepared to publish during candidature.
• a candidate’s thesis benefits substantially from publishable papers and submissions to journals/conferences being built into their candidature milestone plan.
• a candidate’s thesis benefits substantially from referees’ as well as supervisors’ comments on thesis papers in journal article format before thesis submission.
  
• candidates have increased confidence in the quality of their research work as early career researchers following supervisor and external referee comments on journal article format papers.
• candidates' published research findings are available and contribute to their research communities at the earliest possible opportunity (rather than their research only being available under restricted access and delayed conditions in the university library after award of degree).

4    Definitions and acronyms

Publication/Published copyright material	A publication refers to a full paper in the form of a journal article, fully refereed conference paper, book chapter, publicly-available report, monographs, working paper or other work, whether published, in press, or in submission or any other discipline accepted format. Other copyright material could include a published graph, map or photograph for instance.
Policy maker	Senior university manager responsible for operational policy development.

5    Policy Maker          Dean of Graduate Research

6    Policy Provisions

A relevant published paper or set thereof may comprise the lesser or greater part of a graduate research thesis.

A thesis may include publication/s or conference presentations prepared during the candidature period and which relate to research undertaken during that HDR.

Any paper/s incorporated into a thesis or exegesis must constitute an essential part of a coherent and integral body of work rather than a separate component. That body of work will be focused on a single research project and set of related questions or propositions.

Above all, candidates must consider the way in which each paper contributes to the overall work.

FAQ:  What length should a thesis including published work be?

A: There are, generally speaking, similar expectations regarding length for a thesis incorporating publication/s as for a conventional thesis, (i.e. circa 60,000 to 100,000 words, for a PhD, depending on the discipline). However, it is quite common for a thesis that is largely comprised of publications to sit at the lower end of the discipline range due to the concise nature of the writing required for most publications. As a general guideline, when the majority of a thesis is to be comprised of published papers, anywhere between three to eight papers bracketed between an introduction (that lays a coherent foundation to the research) and a conclusion (that draws the findings together and provides a clear statement concerning the findings) could be considered acceptable, although, this will ultimately be determined by the discipline.

FAQ: What should I do if published articles use different formatting or footnoting styles?

A:  There are a number of possible approaches to incorporating papers into a thesis. Published papers may, of course, simply be reproduced/inserted without change as chapters or; they can be reformatted and rearranged for inclusion in the thesis.Consistency of both format and writing style is essential throughout a thesis. These qualities will assist examiners’ reading of the thesis and should reflect the integrated nature of the work.  Incorporating reformatted and reorganized papers (for which the candidate is the author) can overcome copyright issues as well as the need to remove published papers from the electronic version.  Such an approach can also minimize the repetition of material between individual papers (e.g. common themes for introductions, methodology) and permits references to be grouped into a single bibliography with a uniform referencing style.

Authorship

The published papers used in a thesis may be single authored (i.e. the candidate) or co-authored. Where an included paper has multiple authors, the candidate would normally be expected to be the principal author.   Lead authorship is one factor that will positively weight an examiner’s assessment of the quality and extent of the candidate’s contribution and whether it warrants the award of the degree based on the specified criteria.

FAQ: How should co-authorship arrangements for published material used in a thesis be detailed?

A:  Where the paper/s has multiple authors, the candidate must include a statement of co-authorship statement for each publication, within the preliminary pages of the thesis. This must clearly specify the extent to which the original research was undertaken by the candidate as well as the co-authors, the extent to which the candidate authored the papers and give full acknowledgement of the contribution of others (a template is provided at www.utas.edu.au/research/graduate-research/current/examination/guidelines-and-forms). This must be consistent with the (previously submitted) authorship agreement form.

Candidates should also be familiar with university policy and procedure on authorship of research.

Copyright issues when including published or copyright material in a thesis

As a general rule the candidate will own copyright for their thesis [see intellectual property policy and ordinance and the copyright policy]. When a candidate includes copyright material created by someone else (e.g. Maps, photos, graphs, illustrations) they must ensure the necessary permissions to copy and communicate this material have been obtained or that the material is usable in the public domain.

FAQ: What is material in the ‘public domain’?

A: ‘Material in the ‘public domain’ is material for which the copyright has expired or when the author of the material has authorised its use in the public domain.  It should not be assumed that material that is available on the internet is in the public domain simply because it is openly accessible. One must also weigh up the effort required to obtain copyright permission for copyright material against how essential that material is to the thesis.

If material is to be used that has been submitted or accepted for publication, copyright may have been assigned to the publisher in the process of submission.  Authors must check the terms and conditions of their publishing agreement to see what rights they have retained to re-publish their material. 

It is the candidate’s responsibility to check that they have the rights necessary to make that accepted or published material openly accessible in the submitted electronic version of their thesis. If permission is not obtained, any unauthorized material must be identified in the thesis  access form and details of the full citation and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the removed material are to be provided where possible.  This DOI and/or citation will direct the reader to where they can access the original published or copyright material. Otherwise, the UTAS Library cannot make those materials available online through its institutional repository, ePrints.

FAQ: What if I have included copyright material in my thesis that I don’t have permission to reproduce?

A: Either seek and obtain permission from the copyright owner prior to submitting final thesis copies to the Graduate Research Office or identify this material on the thesis access form www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/.../thesis-access-form-aug2011.pdf so the library can remove this material from the electronic version of the thesis. In signing the declaration on the thesis access form a candidate is taking legal responsibility for what is and is and is not made accessible in their thesis.

FAQ: If I have had an article accepted for publication but it hasn’t yet been published at time of submission, is it copyright protected?

A: A candidate needs to check with their publisher about this. Sometimes the answer will be yes and sometimes no. Sometimes a candidate may be able to negotiate with their publisher to retain certain rights to reuse or republish their published materials. If unclear always clarify with  the publisher. A candidate must include a statement, within the preliminary pages of their thesis, regarding copyright of published work contained in a thesis and; complete an electronic thesis submission form.

FAQ: What needs to be included in my thesis statement about published work?

A: An example of candidate statement regarding copyright of published work contained in a thesis is: “the publishers of the papers comprising chapters x to/and y hold the copyright for that content, and access to the material should be sought from the respective journals. The remaining non published content of the thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968.”

When any printed, hard bound, versions are made available no changes need to be made to these copies as they can be legally accessed with the published material inside, again, provided there is due acknowledgement.

7    Supporting/Related documents

Authorship of research policy www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf.../authorship-of-research-policy.pdf

Statement of co-authorship form www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/word.../statement-of-co-authorship.doc

Electronic thesis submission form www.utas.edu.au/research/graduate-research/forms   (under Examination)

‘Notation replacing material removed from thesis’ template www.utas.edu.au/research/graduate-research/forms   (under Examination)

University Ordinance on intellectual property

UTAS Copyright Policy

8    Key words

•    Published material, publications

9    Supporting Procedures/ Guidelines

Procedures Graduate Research

Graduate Research Frequently Asked Questions