Student Thesis, Dissertation, and Capstone Guidelines

Includes: Copyrighted material included in student theses, dissertations, or capstone projects completed as part of degree requirements at Pacific University; also any other student work that is deposited with Pacific University Library

Option One: Determine if the material is in the public domain or is licensed for open use. If not…

Option Two: Determine if the use qualifies as Fair Use. If not…

Option Three: Get permission to use the material from the copyright holder.

Safest Use

Portion/Material Limitations:

a. Quotations from non-creative textual works: Quotes no longer than one single-spaced page.

b. Copies of non-creative textual works: Do not include reproductions of textual materials (either for the purpose of illustration, or as an appendix). This includes survey instruments, pamphlets, advertisements, etc.

c. Unpublished works: Do not include material from unpublished works (e.g. diaries, manuscripts, etc.).

d. Creative works: Only brief quotations from poetry, fictional works, dialogue (from a play, screenplay, television broadcast) or musical works.

g. Illustrations: Do not reproduce a picture, chart, graph, drawing, or cartoon.

h. Digital material: If your thesis/dissertation/capstone includes accompanying digital material (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD), do not include any copyrighted music, images or software.

Access/Distribution Limitations:

Do not distribute – either physically or digitally – your thesis/dissertation/ capstone outside of Pacific University if you have not complied with the above limitations and sought permission for the use of all other copyrighted materials.

Questionable Use

For possible uses of copyrighted materials that exceed the portion and access/distribution limitations outlined above, please do the following:

Complete a Fair Use Checklist (.pdf) to determine if your use may still qualify as fair use.

If you are still uncertain, contact the Copyright Help Desk.

Dangerous Use

Portion/Material:

a. Quotations from non-creative textual works: Quotes longer than one single-spaced page.

b. Copies of non-creative textual works: Including copies of workbook sheets, survey instruments, pamphlets, brochures or other works as illustrations or appendices.

c. Unpublished works: Including any material from unpublished works.

d. Creative works: Quoting entire poems, long stretches of dialogue (from a play, screenplay, television broadcast) or the complete lyrics to a song.

g. Illustrations: Including copyrighted pictures, charts, graphs, drawings, cartoons or other pictorial works.

h. Digital material: If your thesis/dissertation/capstone includes accompanying digital material (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD), including any copyrighted music (e.g. as background/a soundtrack), images or software.

Access/Distribution:

Posting your thesis/dissertation/capstone to a personal website, submitting it for publication, or otherwise distributing it outside of Pacific University – if it contains copyrighted material that you did not receive permission to use or does not fall within the bounds of fair use.