University of Basel

University Library

Publication

The University of Basel’s electronic dissertations are publicly available in the edoc institutional repository and are recorded in the library catalogue. For archiving purposes, they are also saved by the Swiss National Library.


Persistent link: E-dissertations are provided with a "Digital Object Identifier" (DOI) and a "Uniform Resource Name" (URN). These links remain valid even if the file is migrated to a different server.

Every dissertation from 1980 onwards can also be published retrospectively in electronic format.

 

Contact and support

diss-ub@clutterunibas.ch

Images: Images in freely-accessible e-dissertations must comply with personal rights and with copyright. If you did not create an image yourself, you must clarify whether the rights owner agrees to publication on the Internet. If people or private spaces are pictured, these people or the owner of the spaces must agree to the publication. Images that do not fulfil these legal requirements may be replaced in the electronic version with a symbolic image with a reference to the printed version, after consultation with diss-ub@clutterunibas.ch.

Curriculum vitae: A CV may be omitted from the electronic version for data privacy reasons.  

Choice of licence: E-dissertations published on edoc are freely accessible. Copyright remains with the author. The edoc policies (in particular the data policy) apply to the use by third parties of documents published on edoc. 
Optionally you can declare the usage rights directly in your dissertation with a Creative Commons licence. Creative Commons licences offer a standardised method for granting users rights to a work. Check the information about Creative Commons licences. If you decide on a CC licence (the University Library recommends CC-BY), add a note to the title page: for examples see pages 2 and 3 of sample title pages.

Please note that you can only create a Creative Commons licence if the dissertation does not contain any parts that were or will be published by a publisher under a more restrictive licence.

Publisher publications and patents:

  • Cumulative dissertations / published articles: If a dissertation contains journal articles or other published articles, the specific copyright conditions must be adhered to. In many cases, permission (generally free of charge) to use the publisher’s PDF in the dissertation must be obtained via the Copyright Clearance Center (a link to the CCC is often included with a journal article: “Rights and permissions“).
    If this is not possible, then you can find out from SHERPA/RoMEO or ultimately from the journal itself, which version (manuscript) may be used in the dissertation.  There may be an embargo period that can be observed by selecting an appropriate publication date in edoc (see also Delayed publication under Electronic submission steps).
  • The dissertation or parts of it will be published later by a publisher: The specific conditions must be clarified before submitting the manuscript to a publisher or to a journal. Parallel use in a dissertation is often permitted, but not always. If necessary, the conditions can be adhered to by choosing an appropriate publication date in edoc (see also Delayed publication under Electronic submission steps).

Supplementary material, research data: Large tables, video material and other research data that are not integrated into the dissertation’s PDF file, should be saved in a repository for research data in accordance with the FAIR Data Principles (e.g. on Zenodo) and should be referenced in the text, if possible with a DOI. The entry of the reference URL in edoc as a “Related URL“ with the URL type “Supplementary Data“ is recommended.
For additional information see: researchdata.unibas.ch.

  1. Full text of the dissertation: Create a PDF file (whenever possible PDF/A), which meets the technical requirements. The printout of the PDF file should correspond to the final version of the dissertation as approved by the Faculty. Add a note on the title page of your dissertation about the edoc document server: example see page 1 of the sample title page.
  2. Abstract: Have an abstract of the dissertation, in the language of the document, ready for the upload. Optionally, you may add an additional abstract in German or English. If your dissertation includes an abstract, please use this one.
  3. Consent: Uploading a dissertation to edoc requires the transfer of non-exclusive user rights to the University Library. Please ensure that you agree to the Declaration of consent.
  4. Login: You will receive an account for the submission of your electronic dissertation from the Dean’s Office or from the University Library when you submit your printed dissertation.
  5. Upload: Log in with the account that you received when you submitted your printed copy and follow the instructions on the screen.  
  6. Delayed publication: Should the dissertation be published in whole or in part by a commercial publisher, or contains details of a patent, delayed electronic publication is possible. The desired publication date can be specified when uploading the PDF file to edoc and should, where possible, be within two years after the doctoral examination. Please take note of the conditions of the relevant doctoral regulations as well as the regulations of the publisher’s contract.  

E-dissertations published in edoc are passed on to the Swiss National Library and cannot be withdrawn.

 

When uploading your dissertation, the following declaration of consent for publication of the dissertation on edoc must be accepted:

Declaration of consent for publication of a dissertation on edoc.unibas.ch

By saving your dissertation, you transfer the following non-exclusive rights of use for the document and the associated metadata to the University Library Basel:

  • the right to store it electronically and to make it publicly accessible (if necessary, after an embargo period),
  • the right to pass on the metadata (incl. abstract) to third parties and to pass the files on to cooperation partners for archiving purposes and for parallel publication, in particular to the Swiss National Library,
  • the right to make copies and to convert it to other electronic or physical formats for archiving purposes while maintaining the integrity of the content.

By saving your dissertation, you confirm the following points to the University Library Basel:

  • the activation of the work or parts thereof does not violate the legal rights of any third party. The University Library Basel must be informed immediately of any alleged or actual violation of the copyright by third parties.
  • the University Library Basel is exempt from any possible claims by third parties.
  • the submitted electronic version of the dissertation is identical to the printed legal deposit copy (exceptions are the title page and the curriculum vitae).

I have taken note of the edoc policies.

The edoc data policy applies as standard for the use of e-dissertations. To be transparent and grant users further rights, a Creative Commons licence can be assigned. Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation. The use of CC licences is free.  

Creative Commons offers a range of globally valid, standardised licences for the awarding of rights of use and for reproduction of a work. CC licences serve to avoid legal uncertainty regarding use and support the dissemination and re-use of research results. The appropriate licence is created from the available modules according to the modular principle.  

The use of the "Attribution" module (BY) is mandatory for all CC licences.  

In addition, the licence can be supplement by the following modules according to requirements:

  • no commercial use (NC)
  • no derivatives (ND)
  • sharing under the same conditions (SA)
[Translate to English:] Icon CC BY-SA

Example: CC licence with the modules "Attribution" and "Share Alike".

 

The most common licence assigned by Open Access publishers is CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution). It enables the unlimited reproduction, dissemination, publishing, modification and commercial use of a work. BioMed Central, PLoS and an increasing number of Open Access journals use this as a standard licence.

Restrictions should be made based on an assessment of the risk (potential misuse) and output (easy dissemination).
The Creative Commons Licence Chooser will support you with your choice of suitable module combination.  

Tip: You can only grant third parties rights that you yourself possess. Make sure that image rights have been clarified or use placeholders for images. If your dissertation or parts thereof (e.g. cumulative dissertation) is published by a publisher, the Creative Commons licence must not contradict the copyright conditions of the publisher’s contract.  

Additional information can be found in the ETH Library’s Research Collection Manual.

The PDF file of your dissertation must generally correspond to the final version of the dissertation approved by the Faculty. Possible exceptions are described in Electronic submission steps.

Please note the following when creating the PDF file:

  • All fonts used must be included in the file.
  • Encryption of the file is not permitted.

When saving the PDF file, please activate the PDF/A option. This ensures that the mentioned conditions are met. Submission of a PDF/A file supports the long-term preservation and the exact visual representation of the document.

Additional information can be found on the website of the PDF Association.

Who owns the copyright for the dissertations on edoc?

  • The copyright remains with the author. Only the non-exclusive rights of use that are specified in the Declaration of consent are transferred.
  • By choosing a Creative Commons licence additional usage rights can be transferred to the public.

What should be done if a dissertation, or parts thereof, are published by a publisher or as a patent?

  • If a dissertation contains already published articles or is published in its entirety by a publisher, the electronic version may become freely accessible at a later time that is compatible with the publisher’s contract. The desired publication date can be entered when uploading the dissertation to edoc.
  • We assume that the publication should take place by the submission deadline for the printed copies. For journal articles, this deadline is generally sufficient. For a patent or a book publication – in particular when it contains protected images – the question must be clarified with the publisher. In justified cases, the publication may be further delayed.
To top

Quick Links