Thesis/Dissertation

"All investigators – from undergraduates to faculty – are required to obtain any necessary approvals prior to initiating research and data collection. The Office of Research Ethics supports Iowa State researchers by offering tools and guidance and facilitating reviews by the university’s research compliance committees."

Graduate student research for a thesis, dissertation, creative component or capstone project that involves any of the following areas must contact the Office of Research Ethics before beginning their research to determine if committee approval is needed. Failure to get the necessary approval can result in unauthorized research that cannot be published. Consequently, graduate students may not be allowed to defend. Research that receives an exemption must disclose the communication of the exemption. 

Learn more about the research committees.

Notes:

• For theses and dissertations involving human subject research, an approval or exemption letter from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must be included in the appendix. 
• Retroactive IRB approvals will not be granted, so graduate students should get the approval or exemption before data collection.
• Visit the Institutional Review Board webpage to learn about required training, forms, reviews, and more.
• See the Human Subjects in Research Policy.

The Office of the Vice President for Research oversees the Authorship Policy. 

"A key expectation of faculty, staff, and students in a research university is the generation of knowledge, and dissemination of knowledge, as evidenced by publications and other scholarly products and creative work including generation of intellectual property, regardless of the medium or format. Recognizing that authorship issues can often be complicated, and conventions can vary between disciplines, Iowa State University encourages its faculty, staff and students to proactively discuss authorship in their creative pursuits to identify and navigate potential conflicts that may impede wide and open dissemination."

This policy stresses the importance of upholding the ethical conduct of scholarship and identifying expectations, credit, responsibility, and communication. It helps to clarify who can or cannot be included as authors and what each author should contribute to the scholarship. Additionally, it safeguards graduate students' rights from inappropriate practices impacted by power inequities or miscommunication that may prevent them from graduating if they cannot include their scholarly outputs in their dissertation, thesis, or creative components.   

Read the Authorship Policy.

ISU is obliged to make our research available to the public in a timely manner.

• ISU discourages embargoes of graduate students’ research findings, though temporary delays can be approved in various circumstances, including when necessary to comply with research contracts and patent filings.
• The Graduate College requires that theses, dissertations, and creative components are publicly available through our Iowa State University Digital Repository and ProQuest.
• The Graduate College defers decisions on the content of these documents to students’ advisory committees. Individual committees have the authority to determine whether the entirety of a student’s research must appear in a creative component, thesis, or dissertation. In all cases, the quantity and quality of scholarship included in one of these documents must meet or exceed the committee’s minimum standards for the degree, as well as the standards imposed by the student’s graduate academic program(s).

Guidelines for Sponsored Research and Intellectual Property Research

• Confidential or proprietary information subject to non-disclosure obligations, including information covered by a non-disclosure agreement or sponsored project agreement, OR intellectual property research that cannot be released to the public in a timely manner (within two years or less) should not be included in a creative component, thesis, or dissertation or any chapters. The major professor and the student understand and agree that a copy of the creative component, thesis, or dissertation, excluding any confidential details, will be made publicly available upon final approval by the Graduate College unless the student secures prior approval for a temporary embargo from ISU’s Graduate College in accordance with the Graduate College Handbook. See Embargoes: Withholding Access for guidelines.
• No redactions (black marks covering content) to a creative component, thesis, or dissertation will be accepted by the Graduate College in compliance with the ISU Digital Accessibility Policy.
• In the event that the non-disclosure agreement specifies that the student’s research contains proprietary information or intellectual property that can never be published, the following recommendation should be considered:

1. A full creative component/thesis/dissertation with confidential material should be used for the final exam. This version is seen only by the POS committee and sponsor.
2. A version that excludes proprietary information or intellectual property research will not include certain details or sections. A redaction statement for each instance of removed content can be inserted, explaining the reason for the redaction, such as to remain compliant with a research contract.
   Example redaction statement: Information in this subsection was approved by the student’s faculty advisers and sponsor but excluded from this document according to a related non-disclosure agreement.

• Additionally, in the Introduction Chapter/Section, the student should mention that this is a modified version of a more complete document that was reviewed by faculty advisers and sponsor(s). This version will be used to submit to the Graduate College, ProQuest, and the library repository, and it will be published immediately or after a temporary embargo. This modified version will need to be approved by the POS committee, program director, and sponsor, and it must be consistent with the committee’s and graduate program’s standards for the degree.

Additional Resources

• For questions regarding confidential information and sponsored projects, the major professor and graduate student should consult with the Office of Innovation Commercialization for all non-disclosure agreements and sponsored projects with industry and commodity groups.
• Consult with the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration for sponsored projects from federal, state, governmental, and non-profit sponsors.

Copyright ownership

• Copyright priviledges are vested immediately upon creating your work. 
• You own the copyright to your thesis, dissertation, or creative component. The Title Page of your thesis, dissertation, or creative component contains the phrase, "Copyright ©  Your Name, Year. All rights reserved." This is a Graduate College formatting requirement. Even without this phrase, you own the rights to your work.  However, in some instances, if an external grant sponsored the research, the copyright may be owned by the sponsor instead of the graduate students. 
• You may wish to file a formal copyright to the U.S. Copyright Office. This formal copyright is necessary if there is a legal dispute. There are two ways of filing a copyright.
  • ProQuest will file it for you for an additional $75 fee.  If this option is chosen, ProQuest will submit two copies of the thesis/dissertation to the Library of Congress. Should legal issues come up, documentation of copyright has already been established. If journal papers with multiple authors are included in the dissertation/thesis, ProQuest may not accept a copyright request.
  • You can file it on your own. This option is typically cheaper.
• Formally registering a copyright may be recommended in these situations:
  • filing a patent
  • writing a book
  • publishing innovative concepts
  • taking on your major professor's recommendation.

Publishing Agreements

• Because Iowa State University has to make all research publically available, you give Iowa State University and ProQuest the non-exclusive license and rights to publish your thesis, dissertation, or creative component because Iowa State University has to make all research publically available. See "Available to Public." You must provide this consent before uploading your file in either the Iowa State University Digital Repository or ProQuest. A copy of the publishing agreement can be found in your Thesis and Dissertation Toolkit.

Additional Resources

• Elder, A. Theses, Dissertations, and Creative Compoenents: Rights and Responsibilities
• Crews, K.D. (2013). Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities
• Terrill, K. and Compton, L. (2021). Is it worth $75? Copyright and copyright registration for theses and dissertations

The Information Technology Services (ITS) oversees the Digital Accessibility Policy.

Iowa State University is committed to ensuring the accessibility of electronic and information technology resources used by members of the university community and general public. This commitment supports the university's mission of teaching, research and service, and is maintained in accordance with relevant federal and state laws.

"Accessible" means that individuals with disabilities can independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same timeframe as individuals without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use.

This policy covers digital theses/dissertations/creative components received by the Graduate College and the University Library.

Learn more about the Digital Accessibility Policy.

ISU, as a public institution, is obliged to make our research available to the public in a timely manner. ISU discourages embargoes and requires students to use requests for embargoes with great care.

Embargoes will allow the title and abstract to be made available to the public. However, the text portion of your thesis, dissertation, or creative component will be held back from public access until the end of the embargo period. At Iowa State University, the embargo period will be the same for both ProQuest and Iowa State University Digital Repository.

• Permanent embargoes are not allowed because they conflict with the Iowa Board of Regents’ and Iowa State University’s mission to disseminate research and knowledge. 
• Temporary embargoes of 6 months, 1 year, or two years can be allowed if graduate students have specific reasons. Here are some questions to consider: 

2. Do you have any publications as part of your thesis/dissertation? If yes, consider who owns the copyrights. If you gave up your copyrights to the publisher(s), you will need permission from the publisher(s) to include the publication in your thesis/dissertation. The publisher(s) may require you to embargo your thesis/dissertation under certain conditions, e.g. if the publication(s) is relatively recent. 
3. Do you have any patents that need to be filed? If yes, consider discussing with Iowa State University Office of Innovation Commercialization and determine how much time may be needed for the embargo. 
4. Do you wish to publish a book or manuscript? If yes, discuss with your major professor and publisher whether an embargo may be needed. 

• Creative writing students pursuing an MFA have an option for an extended embargo. Download the MFA Thesis Embargo Form and follow the instructions. 
• Embargo extensions may be considered under limited circumstances, e.g. compliance with research contracts and patent filings. If an embargo extension is needed, contact Lisa Elm (lkelm@iastate.edu)
• In rare cases, where your work is of a sensitive nature and you do not wish the title, abstract, or text to be made public for a certain period of time, you and your major professor must fill out and sign a Thesis/Dissertation Hold form and return that to the Thesis/Dissertation Office before graduation, with documentation of the publisher's conditions. E-mail correspondence or the publisher's on-line rules or specifications are often sufficient.
• If your thesis/dissertation concerns a device or process that may be patentable or has contract requirements, you or your major professor should consult with Iowa State University Office of Innovation Commercialization, before you submit the final dissertation/thesis. The Thesis/Dissertation Office will review each case.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in research is getting prominent attention. While GenAI tools have a great capacity to assist in the research process, researchers must use these tools effectively, efficiently, and ethically to ensure that the research findings are not compromised. Here are some useful resources:

• The Office of the Vice President for Research has compiled a list of FAQs to provide guidance on the responsible and ethical use of GenAI in research.
• The Center for Communication Excellence, Graduate College has The 3E Framework: Effective, Efficient, and Ethical Uses of GenAI in Scholarly Work to facilitate conversations about the use of GenAI in research.
• The Information Technology Services (ITS) has links to AI tools and professional development resources.
• There are workshops on using GenAI in research by the Center for Communication Excellence and the University Library. Monitor their event pages.

The Graduate College oversees the formatting requirements that align with the principles of accessibility, usability,  consistency, and compliance with Iowa State University's Digital Accessibility Policy.

• Review the formatting requirements.
• Book a Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Consultation.

The Office of Research Ethics oversees the Human Subjects in Research Policy.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a federally mandated committee whose purpose is to ensure that 1) the rights, well-being, and safety of human subjects in research are protected; and 2) that Iowa State University research is compliant with applicable federal and state regulations as well as Iowa State policies and guidelines. To achieve these objectives, the IRB advises principal investigators in designing research projects that minimize potential harm to subjects, reviews all research involving human subjects prior to initiation of the research, approves research that meets established criteria for the protection of human subjects, and monitors approved research to confirm that subjects are being protected. 

Learn more about the Human Subjects in Research Policy.

Your relationship with your major professor is critical to your success as a graduate student. This faculty member will influence what courses you take and the scholarship you pursue. They also have the potential to set you on a pathway to success in your preliminary and final oral examinations, seminar deliveries, and job placement.

For these reasons, it is important that you and your major professor are on the same page about a number of topics, including your academic goals, how you will communicate with one another, how much time should be devoted to your assistantship, and more.

The Graduate College has created a check list of topics that you and your major professor should discuss together. By doing this as soon as possible, you will make expectations clear and help ensure your success at Iowa State.

Download the Student and Major Professor Checklist.