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what happens to lab books at the end of the phd?

R

Hello guys, just few questions:

1.what happens to the lab books at the end of the PhD?
2. what happens to the material /samples generated over the PhD time?
3. what happens if a student has to change laboratory becuase of the suprvisor and the supervisor doesn't give him the material to carry on the research on a different lab? Can the university interefere in this? or is the supervisors that decides what to do?

Thanks, answers are very wellcome!
1.what happens
to the lab books at the end of the PhD? 2. what happens to the material /samples
generated over the PhD time? 3. what happens if a student has to change
laboratory becuase of the suprvisor and the supervisor doesn't give him the
material to carry on the research on a different lab? Can the university
interefere in this? or is the supervisors that decides what to do? Thanks,
answers are very wellcome! Ruth

W

I believe that lab books belong to the university as do any samples.
This may vary with university and how important your work is. They may not want to keep them and let you have them.

Some of my fellow PhDs are industry sponsored and I expect that the company owns the lab book because it contains confidential research. At the end of the PhD they probably get handed over to the company. (Shall have to ask about this one!)

I would think that a student can appeal to the university if they are not getting the materials to do their research that would normally be provided (i.e they would have in the original lab).
However, to access these materials the student may be expected to go between current lab and previous lab if they are a shared resource. The supervisor may feel that there is good reason why material is not in new lab (this may not be a good reason for the student but the student isn't the boss!).
I would imagine it would take a while trying to sort this through official channels and so the problems might best be sorted at supervisor level. The supervisor may believe they have the final say, and there is a possibility the university will back them up if a student complains.

R

thanks for your reply...so you think is terms of
changing lab, the supervisor has the final say? that's sad...I have been relocated
in a different lab because of my supervisor and now I have complained about him,
he decided i wont have any samples to carry on my phd so I have to change
subject: is this legal?why can't the university do something against
this??????? I did not do anything wrong beside reporting him...

thanks to everybody

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