To Restrict or not to Restrict Access: The PhD Candidate’s Intellectual Property

Dilemma

By Kimberly DouglasCaltech Library System

library@caltech.edu

ETD 2003 Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

Caltech

285 Tenure-track faculty 1000 Postdoctoral researchers900 Undergraduates1100 Graduate students

$450M Annual Operating Budget~2000 Peer-Reviewed Papers/Yr150 PhDs per year

Caltech Library System

• 53 FTEs (14 Librarians, 6 IT Staff)

• 4 Libraries

• 600,000 Volumes

• 3556 Paid Print- Journal Subscriptions

• 2500 Paid E-Journal Subscriptions

• $7,100,000 Annual Budget (FY 03)

Scope of Study

Learn how graduate students make decisions regarding global access to their

theses.

Based on set of submitted ETDs during the voluntary phase at Caltech, ask the authors

why they restricted or withheld access to their ETD.

Questions posed

• 1a What was the specific concern that you addressed by restricting access to your ETD to within the Caltech network only?

OR• 1b. What was the specific concern that you addressed by

withholding access to your ETD• 2. Was the action to restrict (or withhold) a joint decision

with your thesis advisor?• 3. Do you have a date in mind to release access to your

whole thesis? If so, what date? If not, what reason?• Please feel free to make any other comments regarding the

treatment of your electronic thesis.

Quantitative DataTotal

# Theses

# Withhld

# Restrictd Whole Thesis

# Restrictd Portion

Total Withhld

or Restrictd

Survey Respond

Biol 9 3 3 0Chem 12 2 2 1 5 3Eng 22 4 1 5 4Geol 8 1 1 2 1Math 1 1 1 1

Phys 11 1 1 0Total 63 2 12 3 17 9

Q1: Why withhold or restrict?

• 2 – Fear of theft of unpublished work currently in patent process

• 4 – Waiting for publication of peer-reviewed paper

• 1 – Couldn’t remember why

• 1 – Do not have permission to publish date in electronic format

Q2: Advisor involvement

• Chemistry yes (3)

• Engineering no (3)

• Geology yes (1)

• Math no (1)

Q3: When will thesis be fully released?

• Chemistry 1 yr / after patent / when paper is published

• Engineering 5 years “to be safe” / can be done now / no answer

• Geology in a few months• Math in March or April 2003

Conclusions

• Graduate Students want to share results– Need education as to the rights of authors

• Advisors play major role where patents are involved– Involve Technology Transfer and faculty in ETD

sessions with graduate students, esp. in Chemistry

• Proactive management of withheld and restricted theses would result in release of more papers