Delaying Electronic Dissemination of Undergraduate Research Theses and Honors Research Theses

In certain situations, there may be a reason to delay the electronic distribution of the thesis document for a limited period of time. Because the university's policy is to disseminate all theses as soon as possible, permission to delay distribution will be granted only if certain conditions are satisfied. Situations in which delaying may be appropriate include:

  • The student wishes to publish an article from the thesis in a journal whose policy is not to publish anything that has already been disseminated electronically.
  • The student wishes to publish the thesis with a publisher whose policy is not to publish anything that has already been disseminated electronically.
  • The student is in the process of applying for a patent on research contained in the thesis and does not wish to make its contents public until the patent application has been filed.

Policy

Students can apply to the University Honors and Scholars Center through their research advisor to delay the electronic dissemination of their thesis for one, three, or five years. In most cases, such requests will be reviewed and granted by the University Honors and Scholars Center. Once the initial request has been granted, additional extensions can be requested (up to a maximum of five years). Students bear the responsibility for requesting extensions. If the University Honors and Scholars Center does not receive a request for an extension, the Knowledge Bank will release the document according to the original schedule.

Process for Delaying Dissemination

  1. Students submit their PDF file to the Knowledge Bank. As part of the submission process, students indicate whether or not they are/have requested delayed dissemination for their thesis.
  2. Students must complete and submit the University Honors and Scholars Center's Delay of Dissemination Form, available online and at the University Honors and Scholars Center. This form must be signed by the student and his or her advisor at the time of the thesis defense.
  3. The University Honors and Scholars Center requests that students attach a copy of the journal or publisher's policy that is the basis of their request to their Delay of Dissemination Form. The University Honors and Scholars Center will consider these documents as it develops policies and procedures pertaining to scholarly publication.

Note: Students are responsible for requesting a delay of electronic dissemination and for sending their completed request to the University Honors and Scholars Center for review. If a student does not obtain approval from the University Honors and Scholars Center, the thesis will be released for dissemination once it is approved.

Link to this page: http://go.osu.edu/kb-honors-instructions-delay