Beginning a Thesis or Dissertation

Copyright Permissions

• Since your thesis or dissertation will be further distributed through MOSpace or through the ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Dissemination program, you need to be especially careful about including materials by others that are covered by copyright.

Managing Your Rights

• Copyright law protects original works that are fixed in some medium. As the author of your dissertation or thesis, you are the copyright holder, unless you have entered into some funding or employment agreement that places copyright ownership with someone else.

Theses & Dissertation Copyright is a great starting place to learn more about the complex nature and application of copyright in relation to the creation and dissemination of your thesis or dissertation.

Students enrolled in a Master/Doctoral Thesis Research Class have access to a plagiarism check service.

• Read about the plagiarism check service and instructions for submitting on Graduate Student Resources: Plagiarism Check Services

Maintain a research profile to distinguish your work from other researchers.

• Set up an ORCiD account as it provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from other researchers
• There are a variety of other profile options available to authors publishing research
• As a researcher, you can also examine the impact of your research through an h-index score