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Phd Thesis Request- Dilemma
Now to answer this properly.
It's interesting the opinions people have on whether to place restrictions on their thesis or not until they publish papers from it. The only reason I could concievably needed to impose restrictions is if commercially sensitive or valuable material was in it. In my case, there was a lot of new science but no clear commercial value at the time and making money out of the knowledge was not really an option.
So rather than let it gather dust and never be seen again, I dumped it in the public domain. In the end, 10 papers (9 to journal, 1 to public domain) and 1 book chapter resulted from it, further verifying the data was mine. The work would otherwise not have been known about.
My thesis had a large amount of original data in it and therefore writing papers either referring to information not readily in the public domain or restricted would have been difficult. Also, if the thesis is publically available either in repository or via sale through say Proquest, you can identify the work as yours if someone tries to plagerise a portion. It will be dated plus you'll have the "original verifiable data" to show it's your work.
A referee in one paper criticised me for referring to theses as source documents due to poor availability. This situation was addressed by placing it in the public domain and later by adding to my former University's electronic repository when it came online.
What happens if you place restrictions on a document, just for another organisation to publish fully in your field before you get the chance or at some point to gain credit for identical work some years later because you restricted?
Can anyone who completed some time ago say in retrospect restriction was advantageous? There are examples where a commercial / high interest case can be made, but for many of us our PhD research in a niche area where the raison d'etre is not yet appreciated.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Phd Thesis Request- Dilemma
It's just dawned on me I've answered the wrong thread. Apologies!!!
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Referees for an aged returner?
Just one thing to add here. This may vary from University to University, however, doesn't the academic reference have to be from your undergard degree?
The University where I did my PhD wasn't interested in my Masters references.
This may be a solution to your problem.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Phd Thesis Request- Dilemma
2:2 BEng undergrad and MSc Merit, Im out of ideas
Have you talked to a careers advisor about your CV and your sales pitch? A 2(ii) plus M.Sc. should be enough to give you a level footing with other applicants and was my route to a PhD (I actually ended up with two M.Scs. due to ill health on the first one, leading to me taking the second as I thought I'd failed the first). I will add I worked in the real world for five years before I came back too.
Take a read of my blog as it may give you a few pointers. I cover qualifications plus experience needed to find a PhD. Rather than a gap open up on your CV, I suggest you find a relevant job (I know this is hard at the moment too) in the medium term as this will help in a future application.
By the way, posting up your CV is a very dangerous thing to do as it tells people all they need to know to commit identity fraud.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Post PhD effect- how to overcome and how long does it take?
This is a really interesting topic and thread, and I have loved reading the shared wisdom and knowledge that it has inspired. Huhu, I hope all goes well over the next few months, also hoping that the uneasy feelings and recovery year Ian has mentioned for in his post is over shortly.
The one or two years I mentioned, that was a long time ago now.
One thing that does not disappear easily though, after you've probably pushed yourself as hard as you can and a PhD is a massive achievement only one percent of people will manage, is where next?
That takes a lot of thinking about and going back to settle for the mundane takes a lot of getting used to. Add to that people's perceptions of a PhD and the problems that in itself entails.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Post PhD Blues
I can relate exactly to the above and recently posted in response to someone else asking the same question.
I felt relieved for about a week to ten days after my final submission knowing I was rid of it - after a brief period of elation and stunned shock after viva, I'd pushed straight on (the next morning) to rid myself of the minor corrections literally within a week. Then I felt lost for a while too. The whole PhD process really takes alot out of you - for me, it had been a hard write-up but followed by the relief of a straight forward viva. It can take months (the phrase I heard was a quiet couple of years for a man, twelve moths for a woman - women seem to recover more quickly) to pull round and put together a clear post-PhD plan. The PhD dominates your life for seemingly ages then suddenly it's not there.
I decided to pump the thesis and data for publications and it you want a research or academic career, that will help. However, an academic career (as in teaching) may require you to acquire a Post-Graduate Certificate of Higher Education now, which may be studied for alongside your early lecturing duties. You will need to look into this.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Bullying even after left
Are you saying the work concerned has nothing to do with the PhD? Then that's one thing less to worry about and your PhD is not in danger for work outside its scope.
You did something for him, it worked. He tried to repeat, it didn't work. Keep hold of your data for scrutiny and have clear in your head how you might defend yourself if he does decide to claim scientific misconduct. You might want to seek informal legal advice (but no more than that for now) as to what actions to take if he does take things further.
I would therefore regard this as a niggle and if you no longer need him for anything, just say you want no further contact with him. I personally would just try to walk away, with no more than an informal complant at most for now. As I said, Universities don't like people who rock the boat too much and he might just dig his own hole.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Copyright issues in PhD thesis
PART 3: I'll add that later I co-authored a book chapter with my former PhD supervisor. The book chapter was part of a commercial publication that did pull heavily on my work and that of my two predecessors, plus work done for another University.
For this book chapter, the publisher asked for authorisations from me, my two predecessors and from this other University. These were duly signed and returned.
However, once again material from other work only had odd sentences and say one diagram per previous publication taken for review and criticism, and these were cited and accredited in the Bibliography / References. When the article was proofread and refereed, the publishers did not raise any issues over these.
(I'll add once the chapter was published, we did not receive any royalties. However, that was an issue my former supervisor didn't sort out properly prior to writing the book chapter when I wasn't involved. Oh dear!!! :-) )
So once again, the term 'fair dealing' comes into play and as long as you do no more than quote the odd sentence or use the odd diagram for discussion, review and criticism, then you should be okay. Additionally, the thesis / dissertation is normally non-commercial and there will be no financial gain from it on your part, so once again unless you're taking large amounts of material and you are citing the original author then I would tend not to worry.
As you've gathered, I've become curious about this. Hope this all helps!!!
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Anxiety About Corrections
Hello all,
Just joined this valuable forum as I'm currently going through an anxiety episode. Basically, I passed my viva with corrections five months ago- I was given a list of 6 corrections (4 minor/ 2 are more major or substantial). I don't need to resubmit and I don't need to sit another viva- I just have to send the corrections to my internal examiner who then approves the stuff and lets the uni know.
I did my corrections nearly 4 months ago and my internal only replied yesterday, and he apparently still expects even more revision (i.e. he wasn't entirely satisfied with my corrections). I was told post-viva that I won't need to do any additional fieldwork which is why I left the UK (I told them that) and am getting teaching and research experience overseas. Now I've received the revised draft and was shocked at the number of comments there.
I emailed my supervisor, who will also be shocked as he thought my revision looked great (in fact, he thinks my PhD is so good I must convert it into a book). I'm very worried I'll fail and not get the PhD- is that possible at this stage? Please help- many thanks.
In reading the new comments, has he asked for more than the original corrections that were detailed post-viva?
He can't change his mind post-viva as to what the corrections entail once what has been expected of you has been detailed.
I normally advise against rocking the boat and going along with what is wanted in order to get write-up / viva / corrections out of the way, however, there seems to be grounds to complain here if he has changed the goalposts so to speak.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Bullying even after left
I hope my answer does not seem too bizarre. :-/
Given he is a bullying character, is there a risk his reruns of your experiments could be used as evidence to show your PhD results are not valid (i.e. implying dishonesty in the data on your part)?
If yes, I'd establish why he is rerunning the experiments as a case for fraud (probably not too likely) could lead to a PhD being revoked. That said, Universities don't like having the boat rocked even by a current member of staff and he could be digging his own hole by doing this.
If no, it's his problem and now you have your PhD it's history. Just ignore him, forget about it and press on with your post-doc at your new institution.
I was bullied (technical term harassment) in my second post-doc. Once I was gone, the situation was no longer my problem though there were ongoing problems with references circumstances allowed me to get around. He didn't bother me once I left, so it was an end to the situation for me.
Establish what he is trying to do and if it's no threat to your current status or PhD qualification (as I said unlikely), forget about it.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Copyright issues in PhD thesis
PART 2:
Copyright exceptions
There are a number of specified copyright exceptions in UK law which permit copying in certain circumstances (for instance for use in judicial proceedings) or for certain categories of people (for instance for those who are visually impaired). More detailed information regarding these exceptions is beyond the scope of this overview but can be found in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or on the UK Intellectual Property Office's website.
In addition to the specified exceptions, there exists a group of exemptions which fall within the scope of ‘fair dealing'. Material reproduced for the purposes of non-commercial research or private study, for criticism or review or for the reporting of current events is included in this group. If material is reproduced for these purposes, provided it is genuinely and fairly used for the stated purpose, and is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement, it may be considered fair dealing and thus exempt from clearance. However, the test is subjective and will depend on the circumstances of each case.
My take on this is material is being reproduced for review or criticism and for a non-commercial purpose. You are also citing the original authors in your references / bibliography. Although the test is subjective, odd phrases or figures (one per original publication maximum say) here and there with a view to criticising or reviewing (i.e. literature review) would not be seen as substantial. I wouldn't be too concerned.
As I said earlier, if you were taking huge chunks and more than say one figure per original work, then that would be taking the p*ss.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
Copyright issues in PhD thesis
PART 1:
From the Copyright Licensing Agency:
It is an infringement of copyright to do any of the following acts in relation to a substantial part of a work protected by copyright without the consent or authorisation of the copyright owner:
copy it
issue copies of it to the public
rent or lend it to the public
perform or show it in public
communicate it to the public
As mentioned above, for infringement to take place it must involve a substantial part of the work. Whether or not the part to be reproduced is substantial is subjective and the quality, importance or significance of the extract are equally as important (some may say more so) as the quantity of words or lines - using just four lines of a poem or even a four word extract have been found to be substantial. The test is subjective. It is often said that if something is worth copying, it is worth protecting.
Secondary infringement may occur if someone, without the permission of the copyright owner, imports an infringing copy, possesses or deals with it or provides the means for making it.
thesis embargo- urgent advice needed please!!
What are the regulations on embargoes? It's not normal that someone could unilaterally demand a 25 year embargo. I know a lot of places don't have embargo periods in the regs, but most places are very low - we're talking 2 years. It's not in the interest of the institution to withhold publication.
You've probably seen it, but this might have some good information for you:
Agreed, two years is normal at the request usually of the PhD candidate.
The very most I've heard of is five years and that requires there to be a reason for confidentiality. For example, an industrial partner on a PhD or MPhil might want to ask for two or five years to gain commercial advantage and prevent a competitor accessing the information in doing so, sufficient time for then to apply for a patent.
However, the confidentiality period is normally established at the beginning via signing of an agreement between the university, the industrial partner and the PhD / MPhil candidate.
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
PhD SUCCESS !
Dear all
You may remember last year that my PhD was awarded an MPhil .. well, without going through the whole story which is too negative for now, the examiner's decision was nullified pretty soon after I received the outcome .. to which end, I received a new viva with new examiners and it passed like a dream ! The examiners were very positive about the thesis and recommended book publication, and it was a very supportive and thought-provoking discussion. I received only very minor editorial corrections. Now looking back, I can see how much strength and determination the whole process took let alone the writing of the thesis. But now I can move on, and career is going well. My advice is keep focussed, and there are some bad players in academia, but if you keep your conscience clean, a victory is certainly possible and well-deserved. Thank you for all of your support during such a horrendous time. I never thought such a great outcome was possible! Good luck!
Nice!!! Well done!!!
Ian (Mackem_Beefy)
