This document outlines the procedures for staff to follow if plagiarism
is suspected in papers, essays, theses, or similar written work for which
the identification and proper citation of sources is a standard academic
expectation.
For this document "plagiarism" is briefly defined as any text, image,
concept, idea or other information which has been incorporated either
directly or indirectly from an original source, without proper citation of
that source, into work which has been presented as the student's own.
For the purposes of this policy, plagiarism may be further defined as
Type A or B. Type A plagiarism is the uncited usage
of substantial amounts of material, such as submitting all or part of
another person's work as one's own, either directly or with only minor
modification. Underlying the definition of Type A plagiarism is
that (a) the uncited material is clearly not the student's own; (b) it
comprises a significant portion of the paper or other work which has been
presented as the student's own; and (c) the manner in which it was
included without attribution seemed unlikely to have been inadvertent.
Type B plagiarism would be the uncited or inadequately-cited use
of specific expessions, concepts, viewpoints, assumptions, images, etc.,
from other sources within what otherwise appears to be original student
work where the weight of the uncited material is relatively minor and the
way in which it was incorporated may have resulted from oversight or
ignorance rather than intention.
Neither type of plagiarism is acceptable, but they may be distinguished
by the weight the plagiarized material holds in the work in question, the
extent to which it had been taken directly from an original source, and
such factors as whether the work in question was a preliminary rather than
the final version of a paper, or whether an original source had not been
cited at all, or was merely cited incompletely (for example, material from
another source was not footnoted, although the source itself was noted in
a Bibliography) so that the possibility of inadvertency exists.
Staff Procedure When Plagiarism is Suspected
Class B Plagiarism
- In cases of Type B plagiarism, particularly if it occurs in
preliminary versions of student work, and may have resulted from oversight
or ignorance of good academic practice, the normal procedure would be for
the teacher to consult with the student, explain what the teacher
considers to be inadequate with the citation of material which is
apparently from other sources, refer the student to references on citation
procedure, and request the student to correct the deficiencies before the
work is graded. In such cases the consultation would be only between the
teacher and student in question, with the expectation that the revised
work would resolve any problem areas and a normal grade could then be
awarded based on the quality of the revised work.
- If the problem areas were not resolved in the student's revised
paper, or if Type B plagarism recurs in other work by the same
student, the teacher should (a) make a reference copy of the problem
area(s) in question; and (b) specifically consult with the student as to
why the problem has recurred.
- If the teacher feels it warranted after this consultation, the
issue may be referred to an English Section staff meeting for discussion
and recommendation of further action. In this case the teacher must
inform the student of his intention to refer the issue onwards, and the
student must have the right to be present and represent himself if the
issue is discussed.
Class A Plagiarism
- In cases of suspected Class A plagiarism, the teacher should
first make a reference copy of the whole or relevant parts of the student
work; and where the original source of plagiarized material can be
determined, also make reference copies of the relevant parts of that work.
Following this, the teacher should consult privately with the student to
present the evidence of apparent plagiarism and offer the student a chance
to explain. If there is a mitigating explanation, the matter may then be
treated as Class B plagiarism.
- However, if it is clear after consultation that plagiarism has
occurred in work which is significant to course evaluation, the result
will be the automatic failure of the student in that course. The teacher
will (a) inform the student of this failure; (b) inform the English
Section staff and other Department teachers of this student of the
incident; and (c) provide copies of the plagiarized work and evidence of
the original source(s) to the Head of Department, after which the student
will be required to consult with the Head of Department or other
university authority concerning possible further action, including steps
relevant to section 19 of University Statute 645/97 and section 20 of
University Statute 115/98, respectively.
- Failure in a course resulting from plagiarism would not prevent the
student from re-taking the course during the next full academic year.
- If an international student is found guilty of Type A
plagiarism, the student's host section and/or department at Tampere
University (if other than the English Section of the Translation
Department) will be also notified. In addition to sections 1-2 above, a
letter outlining the situation will be sent to the student's home
university. The Tampere University International Student Office will also
be notified, and may take further action of its own, including possible
termination of the international student's stay at Tampere University.