I would say that , the ISBN number or the online availability, does not define the existence of your thesis, your thesis is document that can be consulted in your University Library, therefore it exists. So, if you are facing the necessity to quote yourself then you have to cite your own thesis.

Hi Ayca,

I think everyone faces this dilemma when altering a dissertation for distribution to a wider audience than is interested in the esoteric intricacies one delves into in the doctoral thesis. It is admirable that you have opted to do mankind a favor by not just removing the scholarly review section of your dissertation and setting out to find some naïve publisher to publish your "reworked" dissertation.

However, I think you can have the best of both worlds (i.e., talking to academic colleagues in your field of specialization and talking to a wider audience of academic scholars and public intellectuals). The way to do this is to acknowledge in your article that it is largely a report on knowledge/insight/data that you acquired while researching and writing your doctoral dissertation PLUS use quotation marks whenever you are taking verbatim language from your dissertation. What is so beautiful about indicating that you are quoting your dissertation is that you may get someone other than your dissertation advisor to read the dissertation that caused you so much sweat, time, and grief during your young life. (This worked for me, I posted my dissertation on RG and it has actually been downloaded by scholars interested in learning more about an admittedly narrow and tedious subject.)

At any rate, it is really cool to see your own name before the (overly long) title of your dissertation in a footnote, even if the footnote is in an article that you have written. If you upload your dissertation on RG, you can cite to the RG website. Starting in the year I earned my PhD, my university started using UMI Dissertation Services which microfilmed all dissertations and put them in their online database -- VOILA, a proper citation to www.proquest.com, which also looks impressive in a footnote behind your name.

Good luck with your article. Incidentally, are you writing it with your advisor because he/she is a "name" personality and it will look good to have his/her name on the article? If not, consider going out on your own and establishing a name for yourself as the sole author of your work.

"A word to the wise is sufficient,"

Gwen

So, that is a common practice in fundamental sciences, i.e your PhD-thesis data is used for your published papers (even several). Considering that, a PhD thesis is not a extensively peer-reviewed document (the Journal-editors consider a thesis as gray literature"), why should that be plagiarism?. I think that you use your own data is a form to divulge it. I don't know.

For instance, Elsevier policy says:

"...Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint, see http://www.elsevier.com/postingpolicy)..."

Thanks Carlos,

I have the same dilemma and the statement in the link above was very helpful!

I even found it to be used in so many journals - google results. Yet, it is still unclear whether such practice is a form of self-plagiarism or not, the APA manual is a bit ambiguous re this.

Think one should contact the editor of the journal and discuss it directly.

It is very common practice to try and publish parts or all of your doctoral dissertation in a peer reviewed journal. In fact, it is expected. Publishing your dissertation in a peer review process is proof that you can produce new knowledge as an independent researcher. The idea of a PhD is that it is a credential which certifies your ability to do quality research and contribute to the body of knowledge in your respective field on your own.

Every person I know who earned a PhD was encouraged to publish their thesis or dissertation, separately in a different form.

If you cannot use what you have done after so many years of efforts, then why did you write your Thesis? Of course you can use your own work writing a series of articles, it is not plagiarism, it is announcement of your already done work to a broader audience.

Hi All,

I am facing the same dilemma and seeking information to transform my PhD thesis (present online on the University electronic archive) but does not have an ISBN. I am of the view that since the PhD thesis is my own production, citing it in more than one papers and including my supervisor as co-author, should not create any problem. 

Opinions from experts are welcomed.

Best regards

Syed

As long as you are quoting your previous work it should be fine. Your current research paper could be an improvement over the previous one and hence the older paper can give the reader a vision as to the past research done in the subject matter or topic. This will help the reader/reviewer to distinguish and appreciate your current work but it os essential to quote your previous work.

I don´t think yours is a case of self plagiarism or anything morally reprehensible. I even think the very concept of self plagiarism would need much more ethical analysis.

I have the reverse problem, I published Research articles out of my work but now while compiling thesis i am worrying about the Plagiarism ? Can i use the same sentences of my papers in my thesis with proper citation to my work ?

Please help me out.

@rahul kaushik: yes you can do it. you need permission from the journal where your article has been published. attach the permission letter at the end of your thesis.

Thanks Aasawari Khairnar

In most science and engineering fields, thesis is a compilation of your research in a more elaborate way. Everyone has to use parts of thesis in papers or alternately, if papers are published first, you have to use material from papers in your thesis. I think, the document prepared later should cite the earlier work and that should be sufficient. If you have published conference papers or articles first, putting them in reference is a general norm however, if you are trying to publish articles after submission of the thesis, you have to be more careful while citing the work. I would probably rephrase my text to avoid any issues and cite my thesis at the end.

Most rules of APA and plagiarism are not clear on the issue and I think, engineering counsels and engineering bodies should come forward to make it elaborate. Thinking logically, such exceptions should be made by responsible organization of engineering because in the end, it is the outcome of same research and researchers should not be wasting precious time on rephrasing their own work. Same problem arises when you want to submit your detailed work in an article on a topic for which you presented initial work in any conference. Over there, the plagiarism rule is more logical to avoid duplicate publications by the same author however, in case of thesis, It should be an exception. Till the time, engineering organizations come up with a solution, keep rephrasing the text and citing your earlier work.

Hi Ayça

I think you can use part of your thesis. You can also quote it, because it has a date of approval and registration in the institution where you study your doctorate. Any researcher can check the thesis in their respective repository or visiting the university library

In my opinion, since it is your thesis, yes you can copy and paste text as long as you and your advisor are the authors.

My 2 cents

Dear @Ayca

If your thesis is not published online by a publisher, you can directly use the relevant information for your manuscript. But, I severely recommend you to check the possible overlaps of your manuscript by iThenticate plagiarism checker, the software that most journals usually use.

My own view is that 'self plagiarism' is an absurd idea. Plagiarism is the theft of another person's intellectual property. If you have written something it is your intellectual property, so you can't steal it. I think that all working academics regularly reuse whole paragraphs from earlier work, when they need to make the same point as they have made elewhere before. We should stop pretending that this is usual or problematic.

I think self-plagiarism (a bit of a dodgy idea anyway) is to stop students using material already assessed in one piece of work in a piece of work to be assessed. I can't think using bits of your PhD in an article is self-plagiarism. I returned to study late in life after retirement and found that I could use a published article of mine in an essay but not material I had used in a previous MA's dissertation.

IN some cases, it is considered self-plagiarism. So that, you may write your article based on the thesis, but considering the meaning. So better not to copy and paste as it is.

I agree with Nathan W. Hill stealing oneself (self plagiarism) does not make sense. This definition is used by journals for their own interest in not accepting previously published work. Another definition would have to be found, for example the quasi duplication of research work in publication.

I think not.

In many countries and universities, the thesis is actually composed of published papers only. So if that is valid, then the other way around has to be valid too. However, I would prefer to reword things and make it concise when publishing. In a PhD things need to be in great detail, which may not be required in the paper. Hence, my answer is, this is not self-plagiarism. Enjoy.

Publishing the same work in two different journals without bringing anything new in the second publication, but only changing the form, is self-plagiarism.

Your second publication may (must) be refused for lack of originality, but basically no one will sue you on the charge that you stole your own person.

It is a practice. Doctoral students use certain segments of their doctoral thesis, especially the research part and not one but publish several papers in various journals, or participate with them in conferences or symposium.

Dear Dr Ayça Altay . I agree with

Dr Carlos Daza . Wish you the best

Your PhD thesis is your scientific work, your opinion, your contribution to the science that you created, and you yourself in your field. So I think you definitely have the right to use it in the article you are writing.

Self-plagiarism has been recognized as a violation of research ethics. Therefore, directly coping from your thesis and pasting it into a scientific paper would cause problems if your institute forces some regulations with regard to self-plagiarism. Without directly copying, I suggest having the idea and writing in your own words again.

Prof. Ayça Altay: As I understood from your case that it may be a self-plagiarism!