lucedan
[Registered User]
20 November 2016 15:05
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Copyright owners during PostDoc
User: lucedan - 20 November 2016 15:05
Hello everybody,
I am finishing my Ph.D. soon and I am thinking about a PostDoc position.
The idea is that (it will probably sound strange to you) I did a Ph.D. in music composition. Therefore, most of my dissertation will be made in the form of portfolio, and will mainly include musical works.
Meanwhile, I have brought on some theories that are promising enough to give birth to a musicological book.
I am therefore looking for a PostDoc position in order to conclude my theoretical research and have the time to write a book - thing that I can't do during my Ph.D. time.
I would like to ask you if you could tell me how is the copyright working for publishing a book during a PostDoc - had I to find a contract for publishing.
Kind regards,
Luca
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TreeofLife
[Registered User]
21 November 2016 12:27
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User: TreeofLife - 21 November 2016 12:27
If the work is nothing to do with your PhD or postdoc and you do it in your own time, it will be your copyright.
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awsoci
[Registered User]
23 November 2016 04:37
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User: awsoci - 23 November 2016 04:37
This is actually quite a complicated question I think. It really depends on whether your PhD is considered a publication post-examination and thus copyrighted by the university. In my experience (but does not equate to universal truth) post-docs are meant to build on research ideas, or work on new ones, I don't know if post-docs are given just to allow to write a book from a PhD, I've known people who tried to submit post-doc applications like that and get knocked down pretty quick. However, those people were just rewriting their PhD, where it sounds like yours would be a new project.
Different countries have different laws relating to PhDs and publications, I know in some countries PhDs are automatically considered publications, while in others, unless you opt to have it published as is as a university e-book, it is not and you can propose it as a proper book because the copyright is yours (but again, this varies across disciplines as well). Australia, or at least Victoria where I am, does not consider PhDs publications (at least humanities/social sciences, can't speak for hard sciences) UNLESS you opt in for the e-book option, which I didn't do and thus allowed me to publish journal articles and secure a book contract based on my PhD research while currently completing a post-doc (on a different topic).
To get a contract for publishing, what worked for me was reaching out to commissioning editors in my discipline at publishing houses with a brief summary of my idea. If interested, they requested some materials from me which I provided, this was then followed by a full and proper book proposal including sample chapters that was sent out for review. Research the presses, see what they produce and be sure to avoid predatory presses. Before contacting a commissioning editor it's a good idea to have written the proposal and have a sample chapter ready.
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lucedan
[Registered User]
23 November 2016 14:09
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User: lucedan - 23 November 2016 14:09
Thank you all for your replies. It is indeed true that I am thinking about a postdoc to extend my actual research.
When I said that the theoretical output of my Ph.D. is promising, I mean that it is a good framework for future research at Postdoc level.
But I came to experience that to win a scholarship in the humanities, it is worth to have a "dissemination strategy", and mine would be in this case to collect research material into a book-form.
From what I read above, I understand that copyright issues depend on the specific University, but generally: "if the Ph.D. or Postdoc dissertation is considered a publication, the copyright is bound to the University; If not, the copyright is own by the researcher and he/she can forward the content for publishing". Is it right?
So, I would have to check about this with the specific program I apply to.
I heard that the thing works different for researcher associates and lecturers, for example: there, the copyright of all the material published is shared with the University, isn't it?
I believe that Postdocs are considered employees in the UK, so it is a confusing matter.
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