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StFX Scholar

StFX Scholar is the official repository of St. Francis Xavier University (StFX). This guide details how to use STFX Scholar.

Before You Submit

Use this list to assess whether your thesis or dissertation is ready for submission to StFX Scholar.

 Check file format is saved as a PDF 

 Check the version submitted is the final version. 

 Check that all personal identifying information, such as signatures, student number, or email address, has been removed or redacted. For dissertations, do not include your dissertation defence form in the version sent to StFX Scholar.

 Check that you have copyright permission for any third party content used in your work

 Review and sign the Non-Exclusive License form

 Check accessibility is in compliance with Nova Scotia Accessibility Act (2017)

To Deposit Materials

 

 

Press the blue button to begin the submission process.

The submission process is quick and straightforward: complete a form with the required information to accompany your material (including details about your degree, program and supervisor), attach the material as a PDF, and grant the library permission to post it through a non-exclusive license.

We will respond with a link to the work once it has been uploaded.

If you have any questions: email kfuller@stfx.ca

Forms

Prepare Materials for Submission

3. Is your file a PDF?

We require PDF formats for preservation purposes. If the material you are submitting needs to be in a different format, please email kfuller@stfx.ca

2. Are you uploading the correct version of the material? 

We require the final and approved version of your work.

Dissertations: Please do not include your dissertation defence form.

The thesis or dissertation should not include any personal information other than the student's name, as this work will be publicly posted online.  This includes information in appendices.

For example, remove:

  • student number
  • any signatures (including REB)
  • contact information such as personal email or mailing addresses
  • dissertation defense forms  

In place of the information, you can simply place a box over the text that says "Redacted".

1. Have you included portions of other peoples work in your work?

During the submission process, we will ask you to Sign a Non-Exclusive License Form. This form grants the Library permission to make your thesis or dissertation available to others.

This non-exclusive license form also asks about the use of 3rd party material (e.g., other people's scores of music, figures, images, etc.), as there is a difference between what you can include as part of the submission of your work and what you can publish (e.g., posting to StFX Scholar).

See below for more information on using 3rd party material in your thesis or email your liaison librarian. 

4. Is your work accessible?

Files submitted to StFX Scholar need to be accessible to meet the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act (2017).

PDFs

Images

  • Add meaningful alternative text (alt-text) describing the content and function of images
  • Maintain high contrast between image elements
  • Avoid using colour as the only means of conveying information

     

For More Information:

 

Re-using Third Party Materials: Limits to Copyright and Your Thesis

Copyright and Third-Party Content: Thesis Submission vs. Scholarly Publishing

 

Stop and ask yourself: Are you including third-party material in your thesis?

 

If No, everything I've used is insubstantial or my own work  Yes, but I do not plan to publish any part of my thesis    Yes, and I do plan to publish some or all of the content
  • StFX Fair Dealings Guidelines  will still apply to the version you submit for graduation, but commercial publication may change the balance of the fair dealing factors
  • Publishers are often very conservative when it comes to relying on "users' rights" to publish third-party materials commercially
  • You may need to seek permission to reproduce these materials in an article or book

 

Fair Dealing and Other Limitations on Copyright

Fair Dealing

The fair dealing provisions in sections 29, 29.1, and 29.2 of the Copyright Act permit dealing with a copyright-protected work, without permission from or payment to the copyright owner, for specified purposes.

“Fair dealing” is not defined in the Act. The concept has evolved significantly over the last decades through case law, including at the Supreme Court level through cases such as CCH Canadian v. Law Society of Upper Canada in 2004, and Alberta (Minister of Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), and Society of Composers, 2 Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Bell Canada, both in 2012. These decisions set out a multi-factor analysis for assessing whether a particular copying activity or other dealing falls within the ambit of fair dealing.

For a dealing to be fair, it must pass two broad tests:

  • The dealing must be for an allowable purpose:
    • Research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, or news reporting
  • The dealing must be fair - consider these six factors
    1. The purpose of the dealing
    2. The character of the dealing
    3. The amount of the dealing
    4. The nature of the work
    5. Available alternatives to the dealing
    6. The effect of the dealing on the work

The relevance of the factors depends on the context. Sometimes, certain factors will be much more significant than the others. Occasionally other factors, beyond these six, may be relevant. It is not necessarily the case that all six factors need to be satisfied.

See the copyright guide section on user rights for more information. 

More information can be found:

Seeking Permission for Reuse of Content in Thesis or Dissertation

I need to seek permission from a copyright owner. Any advice?

  • Securing permission may take time. It is possible you’ll never get a response to your request
  • If you are using substantial portions of works in your manuscript, think about permissions early in your thesis preparation process
  • In some cases, a rights holder will ask you to pay for the material you are using
  • TIP: Keep a record of the permissions you’ve received (you will be asked to upload a record of these permissions during the thesis submission process)
  • TIP: When using works available through the internet, look for sections labeled ‘copyright’ or ‘terms of use’ – these pages will usually outline how you can use the work and when you need to ask for permission

Where do I ask?

  • Trade/Scholarly Book Publishers will generally have a unit devoted to ‘rights and permissions’ which may be contacted via automated forms or an email address
  • You might have to track down an individual, their agent, or a rights organization and send them a permissions request
  • For more ephemeral material (such as material contained in social media posts), you might have to do some digging and contact users directly
  • A copyright agency or copyright collection might represent the rights holder
  • Make sure that your publisher doesn't already have a reciprocal permissions policy in place with the publisher of the material you would like to reuse. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) has Permissions Guidelines which grant permission for a limited number of reproductions of third-party materials published by STM members who are signatories.

Sample text adapted from the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Copyright Permission Request

Date:

Re: Permission to Use Copyrighted Material in a Undergraduate/Master/Doctoral Thesis

Dear [_____], I am a St. Francis Xavier University student completing my Doctoral / Master’s / Undergraduate thesis entitled “____***_____”.

My thesis will be available in full text on the internet for reference, study and / or copy. Except in situations where a thesis is under embargo or restriction, the electronic version will be accessible through the StFX Institutional repository, and also through web search engines.

For masters and doctoral works only: I will also be granting Library and Archives Canada and ProQuest/UMI a non-exclusive license to reproduce, loan, distribute, or sell single copies of my thesis by any means and in any form or format.

These rights will in no way restrict re-publication of the material in any other form by you or by others authorized by you. I would like permission to allow inclusion of the following material in my thesis: [insert copy or detailed explanation including the title of the article or book, the figure or page numbers of the material used, the journal name, year, volume number or unique publication identifier, the publisher and year]. The material will be attributed through a citation. Please confirm in writing or by email that these arrangements meet with your approval.

Thank you,

[your name]

Note: The above was copied and adapted from the University of Toronto Libraries guide Submit and Publish Your Thesis, Re-using Third Party Materials with permission.