ETD Process Requirements

Copyrights & IRB/IACUC Approvals

WORKSHOP: Tips on Copyright & Permissions for your Thesis or Dissertation – October 7, 3:30 pm

While you are researching or working on your thesis or dissertation you are making use of a wealth of different resources: published articles, books, images, software, datasets, etc.  All, or almost all, of these things are protected by intellectual property laws like copyright.  This session will introduce common copyright issues encountered during the research, publication, and the writing of theses and dissertations.

Presented by LeEtta Schmidt, Copyright and Intellectual Property Librarian, USF Libraries

When: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 from 3:30 - 4:30 pm

Register for Online Webinar: http://bit.ly/USFGradcopyright 

Use of Copyrighted Material

ETDs often include material created by others - whether it's a figure or table, a rubric, or even portions of a previously published article. In some cases, the Fair Use Exception may allow you to include it without permission, but the distinction between fair use and copyright infringement is not clearly defined.

In nearly all cases, you should contact the copyright holder (either the creator, or if it's been published, the publisher) to ask for permission. Once you have the approval (email or letter), you should include a copy in the Appendix and cite the source within the manuscript body, using, if prescribed, the language that the publisher requires.

The USF Library can help with further explaining copyright and fair use, along with assisting with obtaining permissions. They've created several helpful guides and worksheets:

If you determine an item is considered fair use using the Fair Use Worksheet, please include the worksheets in your appendices.

You can contact a copyright librarian by completing this email form or by asking for a copyright librarian in person.

IRB/IACUC Approvals

Many ETDs focus on research studies involving human subjects and/or animal subjects. In nearly all cases, students should have worked with the Institutional Review Board (or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for animal subjects) for review, determination, or exemption. You must include their determination/exemption letter within the appendix. This ensures that readers are able to see that the study was reviewed.

The Office of Graduate Studies does not oversee this process, so students should visit the Research Integrity & Compliance website for additional information.