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peppergal
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« on: December 08, 2010, 01:10:44 PM » |
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Here's a WWTFD question, with some setup.
I was recently at a conference, and one of the other speakers cited my dissertation (positively). In the coffee break, I asked him how he had tracked down my diss. He said that his advisor had heard I had written on the topic, and googling my name and a couple keywords yielded a pdf of my dissertation. I was a bit surprised to hear this, since I have not posted my diss as a pdf online.
Well, I've now googled my name and a couple keywords, and lo and behold, there's my diss, in all its glory (seriously, I'm not very happy with it), on someone else's website. Just to be clear, this is not UMI/Proquest. Now, I have no idea how this person got my diss -- it's someone I've never met, located in a different country, though with similar research interests.
So here's my question: Do I contact this person and politely ask that my diss be taken off the website? Or do I just let it go?
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2010, 01:25:58 PM » |
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It depends on how unhappy you are with it! It is a dissertation and I think that the (very) few people who read it will be pretty forgiving. Me, I'd leave it.
Is the person who put it up an academic? If so your chances of getting it taken down might be pretty good.
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87735501111
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« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2010, 01:39:18 PM » |
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I'm guessing it's not an academic site and it came from one of those weird PDF aggregator sites.
Basically, those work by just putting bots to troll the web for whatever content can be found, assembling and then making it findable. I think their business model is to sell ads around this "content." It could be that someone else originally put your diss online for say, a class, which could have then been taken down, but now it's likely to stay in interwebs limbo for quite a while. Seriously, I find bad conference papers and drafts of my own on these things... But other than feeling annoyed, I'm not sure what can be done about those kinds of sites. (And if it is an academic, for heavens sake have them take it down or password protect before the scenario I mentioned occurs...)
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peppergal
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« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2010, 01:48:40 PM » |
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Thanks, guys.
The person in question is an academic. I know that this person is in the same broad field as me, but as far as I know has done no work on the specific topic I wrote my diss on. From the other things on the website, it appears that this person had assigned my diss as reading for a seminar. The person is located in a country with laxer copyright laws than the US. I will ask that the site be password protected, or that my diss be removed.
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santommaso
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« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2010, 04:28:48 PM » |
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Now, I have no idea how this person got my diss -- it's someone I've never met, located in a different country, though with similar research interests.
Perhaps he bought a PDF of your dissertation from Proquest. I'd be pleased if anyone were interested in my dissertation. |
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kron3007
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« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2010, 04:51:17 PM » |
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Are your theses not publically available after graduation? Otherwise, how could he have gotten a copy unless from you or your committee?
Here they are available through our university after they are submitted.
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anon99
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« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2010, 08:48:09 AM » |
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Several places I know put all graduate theses online. My thesis is available as a pdf from the uni library as are thousands of others. I submitted a hard copy, so someone spent a lot of time scanning all of them in.
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guiones
New member
Posts: 7
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« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2012, 05:22:40 PM » |
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I have a somewhat similar situation but am dealing with a non-academic site. My thesis was a study of X theory, generally, using reality show Y, specifically, to look at the theory. I can't find it in the UMI/ProQuest full-text database, but someone obtained a copy, perhaps via interlibrary loan, and posted it online. I also have an "in all its glory" feeling about the work; it's not bad, but it's just a thesis. When it was originally posted online, I think I sent an email asking for it to be taken down. It's been a while, and I don't remember if there was a reply from the site. I hadn't thought about the copyright infringement (or my thesis that much) in years. I've been working on different things, and have actually been out of academia for about five years. The things I have been doing have been low-key, so I've been more or less without a web presence.
Last month, I searched my name because I'm on the job market (returning to higher education). The site with my thesis comes up on the first page of a Google search, as does a related sites for the show's fans. A few fans disagree with my academic criticism, which is fine, but their comments are more personal than theoretical. Even a year ago, one of them made a comment about me.
My suspicion is that contacting the site about removing the work will simply invite further negative attention. I'm actually a real fan of the show, but I don't feel that sharing my fandom will help either.
Does anyone have words of wisdom to share? Just ignore it?
If any librarians are reading:- Can I ask my old school not to loan the thesis anymore? (I'm not sure if that would even matter, since the person who put it online presumably has a copy saved.)
Thanks
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polly_mer
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« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2012, 07:27:13 PM » |
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Does anyone have words of wisdom to share? Just ignore it?
People are talking about your research. That's not a bad thing and academics will dismiss personal criticism by non-academics. I think this is a case of "all publicity is good publicity". Ignore it. If any librarians are reading:- Can I ask my old school not to loan the thesis anymore? (I'm not sure if that would even matter, since the person who put it online presumably has a copy saved.)
The point of putting theses in the library is so they can be loaned. I don't think your request would be honored for a reason like "I don't want non-academic people to say mean things about me on the internet". |
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If you haven't got either the anatomical or metaphorical balls to post your own question on a pseudonymous internet forum, then academia is the wrong job for you.
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offthemarket
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« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2012, 07:37:57 PM » |
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I cannot even imagine how this series of events could be construed as something negative.
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astoryteller
Junior member
Posts: 52
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« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2012, 09:47:35 PM » |
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I just discovered that the website www.socscience.com is *selling* a pdf of my dissertation. Without listing my name on the sales page (there's no field for author). The only organization that I've given permission to sell my dissertation is UMI/ProQuest, which pays me a royalty (or would, if anyone ever bought it...hasn't happened, yet). I'm planning to send a polite email to this website "informing" them that I am the author and own the copyright, and have not signed an agreement granting them permission to sell my work. (My book, based on my dissertation, is coming out from a university press later this year.) If anyone thinks this is a bad idea for some reason, please let me know. Otherwise, I suggest others in the social sciences check this cite (or search it via Google) to see if it's trying to profit from your work, too. |
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offthemarket
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« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2012, 09:54:50 PM » |
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I just discovered that the website www.socscience.com is *selling* a pdf of my dissertation.... I am the author and own the copyright.. Free is good. For sale is bad. You should have the paperwork indicating that you have copyright on the dissertation. At least I filled out a form like this when I submitted mine to the university and UMI and all that. It's funny to think there are people out there buying dissertations off of a grey market site. |
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collegekidsmom
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« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2012, 11:07:24 PM » |
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About the library question-it would not be possible to ask that your dissertation not be loaned.
The author holds the copyright to any written work. No forms are needed to prove that. Nobody should be selling your work for profit without your permission and they should be made to take down the material.
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astoryteller
Junior member
Posts: 52
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« Reply #13 on: January 10, 2012, 11:09:53 PM » |
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I do have the paperwork acknowledging registration of my copyright, in case I need it.
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bud04
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« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2012, 12:31:18 AM » |
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I just discovered that the website www.socscience.com is *selling* a pdf of my dissertation. Without listing my name on the sales page (there's no field for author). The only organization that I've given permission to sell my dissertation is UMI/ProQuest, which pays me a royalty (or would, if anyone ever bought it...hasn't happened, yet). I'm planning to send a polite email to this website "informing" them that I am the author and own the copyright, and have not signed an agreement granting them permission to sell my work. (My book, based on my dissertation, is coming out from a university press later this year.) If anyone thinks this is a bad idea for some reason, please let me know. Otherwise, I suggest others in the social sciences check this cite (or search it via Google) to see if it's trying to profit from your work, too. Thanks for the citation. I didn't find mine but I did find an interesting paper on why lesbians bring a U-Haul on the second date......... |
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