Principles of 1KA Public Library Use

1. What are the limitations of using questionnaires in the 1KA public library? Can anyone copy and use the whole questionnaire, any part of the questionnaire or questions?

Questions in 1KA public library are usually meant for all registered users of 1KA for non-commercial use, but it is advisable to check for the source and if there are certain special limitations, before use. The principle of »Fair use« is usually applied if the source doesn’t specify a special limitation.

Website 1KA forwards questionnaires and questions as examples of good practice and established measurement instruments. At all questionnaires sources of questionnaires are cited according to scientific practice. It is also especially written if a certain questionnaire has some special limitation or copyright. If no limitations are stated in the questionnaire source, the questionnaire can be used for all purposes.

From users, it is expected that they properly state which parts of their questionnaires are taken from the public library.

For commercial use, it is necessary to additionally check for copyrights at sources from which the questionnaire was taken. That is also advisable for all cases.

2. What does the “fair use” principle mean?

The “Fair use” principle allows the use, copying and reproduction of copyright-protected works for educational or research purposes except if it is expressively stated otherwise. In any case, it is necessary to correctly state the author and source.

3. How should users cite questionnaires acquired in the 1KA public library?

Generally, it is expected from a user to expressively cite the primary source in a way that the author and location of source access can be recognized by everyone. A user can cite in the same way as the source is cited in 1KA public library – the source should be cited if the whole or only part questionnaire is used. APA standard is used in The Faculty of social sciences. We recommend directly checking at the owner of copyrights if the owner has certain rules of citation.

Example of original citation of 1KA questionnaire:

1KA. 2015. Membership Form. Retrieved from https://www.1ka.si/a/47855 (2 July 2015).

Example of citing questionnaire from data archive:

Hafner Fink, Mitja, Brina Malnar, Slavko Kurdija, Samo Uhan in Janez Štebe. Slovensko javno mnenje 2013: Mednarodna raziskava Nacionalna identiteta, mednarodna raziskava Razumevanje vloge državljana in Ogledalo javnega mnenja [datoteke kodirne knjige]. Slovenija, Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Center za raziskovanje javnega mnenja in množičnih komunikacij [izdelava], 2013. Slovenija, Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Arhiv družboslovnih podatkov [distribucija], 2014. Retrieved from http://www.adp.fdv.uni-lj.si/opisi/sjm13 (2 July 2015).

Example of citing questionnaire from scientific publication:

Diener, Ed, Robert A. Emmons, Randy J. Larsen, & Sharon Griffin. 1985. The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment 49(1): 71-75.

Example of citing questionnaire from the web:

Ninamedia. 2015. Vox populi. Retrieved from http://www.ninamedia.si/arhiv.php (2 July 2015).

4. Is 1KA legally responsible for use of questionnaires from other organisation that does not cite sources of the questionnaire or does so incorrectly?

From a legal point of view, this problem is very complicated. If some other organisation forwards questions without any information about copyrights, then most of the responsibility must be taken by this other organisation. Generally, the owner of copyrights can claim anyone that did not correctly cite his copyrighted work.

It is also necessary to point out that the legal area of intellectual property can be overseen differently in different countries. Regulation of intellectual property of measurement instruments and its findings is also quite murky from the legal perspective. Therefore we advise that when facing a dilemma concerning the use of work that is not yours, contact the owner of the copyrights.