Glossary
The following terms and phrases are often encountered when working with electronic theses and dissertations. Other definitions of terms not listed below may be found at the USETDA ETD Terms and Definitions.
- Administrative Files -- in Baylor's ETD submission system, these files are the "Copyright and Final Approval" form and any documents that provide permission to use third-party (copyright-protected) content.
- Creative Commons -- A Creative Commons license allows you to retain your copyright in works you create but provides a license for others to use your work, with the license specifying how your work can be used without having to ask for your permission.
- Embargo -- A defined period of time during which no one -- including the person who wrote the thesis or his/her faculty advisor -- can have access to the full text of the work that has been embargoed; however, the abstract will be findable and accessible.
- Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission System Actions
- Withdrawn -- Assigned to items that were published in BEARdocs but later withdrawn from BEARdocs because of discovered issues with the thesis, such as plagiarism.
- Waiting on Requirements -- Documentation (such as, signature page, Approval of Final Copy form, Preliminary Checklist, Final Checklist, or Doctoral Investment Form) is missing from the student's file. Until the documentation is received, the student cannot move forward to completion.
- Under Review -- Personnel in the Graduate School are reviewing your submission and may be in contact with you about your submission.
- Submitted -- An automatically assigned status that is provided once the student completes the initial submission to the system.
- Published -- The submission is formally "archived" in BEARdocs, the institutional repository. The descriptive information is available and makes the thesis "discoverable", but if any embargoes are in place, the full text of the thesis will not be accessible by anyone, including the creator or the student's faculty advisor.
- Pending Publication -- Library personnel are reviewing the submission.
- On Hold -- The student has completed the review process, but will be placed on hold until a future semester of graduation (usually applies to Psy.D. students).
- Needs Correction -- Graduate School or library personnel notify the student that there are one or more issues that need to be corrected.
- In Progress -- A student has started the submission process but has not yet completed the submission.
- Corrections Received -- An automatically assigned status that is provided once the student makes corrections and submits them to the system.
- Cancelled -- The submission to the system has been cancelled; it still appears in the system, but no further work can be done with it, unless an administrator changes the status.
- Approved -- Personnel in the Graduate School have approved the submission, and the submission will now be reviewed by library personnel. If library personnel see any issues that require changes, they will send a "Needs Correction" notification.
- Pre-print -- A document submitted for publication in a draft form, before it has undergone a formal peer-review process. Publishers often allow pre-prints to be deposited in institutional repositories or on creator's websites. Theses could easily fall into the "pre-print" category.
- Post-print -- A document submitted for publication that has gone through a formal peer-review process and changes to the document have been made based on that process. Publishers often allow post-prints to be deposited in institutional repositories or on a creator's website.
- Primary Document -- Thesis or dissertation; in Baylor's ETD submission system, this document must be a PDF/A.
- ORCID -- Provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities ensuring that your work is recognized.
- SHERPA Services -- Use this site to find a summary of permissions that are normally given as part of each publisher's copyright transfer agreement.
- Thesis -- Refers to doctoral dissertations and master's theses.
