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Plagiarism

The Department of Economic History is working actively to put a stop to plagiarism and other forms of prohibited working methods. This work is carried out through information to our students via a number of channels such as the home page, introductory meetings, course curriculum, and instructions for exams. We also use Ouriginal - an automatic system for detecting plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the equivalent of copying someone else's written text and to use the copy as an original work, without citations or references to the original source. To plagiarise books, journals, Internet, or other sources without the consent of the copyright holder is an illegal act.

Reuse of one’s own texts

Every assignment should be an original contribution. This means that students are not allowed to reuse old texts that they have handed in on other courses, at the department or elsewhere. In case a student is reusing previous texts this will be considered as plagiarism.

Why is plagiarism not allowed?

When a student is assigned to write papers, home exams, thesis, and other written texts these are expected to be original works. The assignment is not only a matter of writing a text, but also through which means this text has been produced. The academic work code requires that you give an honest account of your source by stating references and put out citations. If there are no references it will be assumed that the text is your own original work. To plagiarise texts from other authors means that you take the credit for someone else's work and thoughts. In a different phrasing plagiarism is a violation of someone else's intellectual property rights. While plagiarism is tempting because it decreases the work load for the student it also creates unjust working relations between those students who write their own original texts and those who steal texts from others. It is therefore in the interest of the student body to work against plagiarism and to create equal opportunities for all by putting an end to free riding. Credits and degrees that have been achieved through dishonest means can result in cheating students securing positions for which they do not have the sufficient merits. In a longer perspective plagiarism undermines the credibility of the university system as such, Lund University, and your own degree.

Individual assignments

At the department most home exams are in the form of individual assignments. This means that although students are encouraged to discuss the course literature, the content of lectures, etc., the actual writing of the assignment has to be done separately.

Written class room exams

When there is a written class room exam no other aids are allowed than the ones that have been authorized by the teacher or the exam overseer. The exam overseer provides the general rules for the exam.

Which is the responsibility of the teacher and the department in the event of plagiarism and other forms of prohibited working methods?

The teacher and the department are required to report any case of suspected plagiarism and other forms of prohibited working methods to the Disciplinary Board at Lund University. The report includes the information about plagiarism and other forms of prohibited working methods that has been handed to the students, the text written by the student and information about the original works that have been plagiarised or that indicate that the text is not an individual assignment. It is the responsibility of the Disciplinary Board and not of the teacher or the department to give a verdict in errands of plagiarism and other forms of prohibited working methods. A conviction in the Disciplinary Board may result in a limited suspension from university studies.

Learn more about academic writing and study skills