Code of Ethics to check malpractices and plagiarism in Research
Objective: To establish institutional mechanism to facilitate responsible conduct of research and to prevent plagiarism.
Introduction: In view of the malpractices which are being widely adopted in the field of research activities, the institute has laid down “Code of Ethics”. The purpose is to provide a set of practical suggestions for maintaining integrity and genuine research.
These guidelines will help an investigator to practice ethical research, and prevent research misconduct. Problems with research include various types of misconduct such as altering results (falsification), making up data or results (fabrication) or copying other people’s work (plagiarism). These guidelines can be used as a common repository of generally accepted practice for researchers.
1. Research misconduct: Research misconduct is an offence. Faculty members, staffs, and students are potentially susceptible to carry out research misconduct, and therefore need to be aware of it and how to avoid it.
Research misconduct does not include differences of opinion; honest, unintentional error; authorship disputes; personal disputes; or violations of management policies. Research misconduct may result from the pressure to “publish or perish”, the desire to “get ahead,” personal issues or character issues, and other reasons.
Most cases of research misconduct are suspected and reported by a colleague (students, staff, or other members within or outside of the research group), and federal agencies or manuscripts by editors.
2. Plagiarism
2.1 Definition: Plagiarism is defined as presenting another person's work as one's own work. Presentation includes copying or reproducing it without the acknowledgement of the source. Authors who present the words, data, or ideas of others with the implication that they own the same, without attribution, is an offence. Such people are committing theft of intellectual property and may be guilty of plagiarism and thus of research misconduct.
2.2 Methods of Plagiarism:
a) Copying of Phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or longer extracts from published or unpublished work including from internet without giving acknowledgement
b) Quoting directly another person’s language, data, illustration, tables, etc. without due acknowledgement of the source.
c) Copying a section of book/article/report/monograph/dissertation/thesis without proper citation.
d) Buying, stealing or borrowing assignments, experiments/results.
e) Using ideas of someone else without crediting the originator.
f) Copying, cutting and pasting from the internet or online source and submitting as one’s own work without giving proper reference/citation.
2.3 Types of Plagiarism:
(a) Self-Plagiarism Copying/reproducing, in part or whole one’s own published work without giving proper citation of that work.
(b) Negligent Plagiarism: Negligent plagiarism means innocently or carelessly presenting another person’s work as one’s own without acknowledging the Source. It arises from one’s inadequate knowledge and competency in writing. It is also due to careless attitude resulting into non-compliance of standard verification procedures. In this type of plagiarism, the degree of copying is not substantial. (
c) Dishonest Plagiarism: Dishonest plagiarism means knowingly and deliberately presenting another person’s work as one’s own work without acknowledging the Source. It involves intentional copying of substantial proportions of the other’s work without written or unwritten permission and also without acknowledging the source.
2.4. Detection of Plagiarism: Institute lays awareness guidelines to educate students and teaching community about plagiarism and the factors constituting it. The detection of plagiarism can either be on the basis of judgment made by a person who understands the subject and who is also aware of the definition of plagiarism. It can further be verified by making use of the softwares /tools available to detect the plagiarism.
The tools and methodology used for detection of Plagiarism is also explained and the action to be followed if plagiarism is proved.
a) Candidate shall submit the report generated on the plagiarism checking software like Turnitin / Ithenticate / Viper / or similar type of software, of his/her draft thesis.
b) The exclusion at the time of performing the check should be limited to the following:
(i) Quotes, Bibliography, Phrases
(ii) Small matches up to 10 words
(iii) Small similarity less than 2%
(iv) Mathematical Formula
(v) Affiliations, Name of Institutions, Departments etc.
(vi) References
2.5. Action after detection of Plagiarism: If there is any apprehension upon detection of Plagiarism to be committed by a researcher, the matter is to be forwarded to the Dean (R&D). The concerned authorities will form a committee of about 5 experts who will establish whether there is a plagiarism or not, if it is, then under which category of plagiarism does it fall. On the discretion of the Dean (R&D), the researcher may be called for hearing and expression of his part of submissions towards the said act. After the discussion with the committee members, the Dean (R&D) submits his recommendations to the Supervisor / HOD / Principal.