Utilization of Degree Theses: An Analysis of Taiwan’s Copyright Act and Academic Ethics 學位論文之利用：以台灣的著作權法與學術倫理觀點分析

• Published in: Jiàoyù zīliào yǔ túshūguǎn xue Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 309 - 337
• Main Authors: Mei-Lien Hsueh, Chien Chou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tamkang University Press 01.11.2024
• Subjects: academic ethics; copyright act; degree theses; self-plagiarism; thesis advisor; 學位論文; 學術倫理; 指導教授; 自我抄襲; 著作權法
• ISSN: 1013-090X; 2309-9100
• DOI: 10.6120/JoEMLS.202411_61(3).0032.OR.BM

According to Taiwan’s Degree Conferral Act, completing a thesis, with few exceptions, is necessary to obtain a master’s or doctoral degree. Traditional master’s or doctoral theses are publicly available but unpublished documents, which raises questions regarding their use. Specifically, can these theses be reused? Who can reuse them? If reused, how should they be utilized to avoid violations of the Copyright Act and academic ethics? Cases handled by the Ministry of Education, the National Science and Technology Council, and the courts of Taiwan have laid bare disputes between students and advisors over the appropriate use of thesis materials. This article explored five scenarios in which thesis materials may be reused: 1. Reuse of one’s own thesis materials in books or journal (conference) articles; 2. teachers submitting their doctoral theses or journal articles based on their doctoral theses as representative works for the accreditation of teacher qualifications; 3. incorporation of one’s own thesis materials into National Science and Technology Council research proposals or reports; 4. incorporation of student thesis materials by academic advisors into National Science and Technology Council research proposals or reports; and 5. academic advisors including the content of student theses in journal (conference) articles with the student as co-authors. This article provides guidance to the academic community on how thesis materials can be lawfully and ethically utilized to contribute to human knowledge innovation. 根據學位授予法規定，除少數特殊專業領域外，學位論文是獲得博碩士學位的必要條件。傳統博碩士學位論文屬於已公開發表，但是尚未出版的文獻，是否可以再次利用？誰可以再次利用？若再次利用，應如何利用，才不會有違反著作權法與學術倫理的疑慮？其實，從教育部、國家科學及技術委員會與法院的案例觀之，發現學生與指導教授針對學位論文利用的確有涉及爭議。因此，本文擬探討學位論文利用之五種情況：博碩士本人、論文指導教師用於改寫成期刊論文、研究計畫書、升等著作等，並提出注意事項，供學術界成員參考，以培養研究人員做出正確的利用，貢獻符合規範的創新知識。