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Q&A - Good Scientific Practice

What is plagiarism?

According to Teddi Fishman: "Plagiarism occurs when someone

  1. Uses words, ideas, or work products
  2. Attributable to another identifiable person or source
  3. Without attributing the work to the source from which it was obtained
  4. In a situation in which there is a legitimate expectation of original authorship
  5. In order to obtain some benefit, credit, or gain which need not be monetary" (Fishman 2009, p. 5)

Fishman, T. (2009) “We know it when we see it” is not good enough: toward a standard definition of plagiarism that transcends theft, fraud, and copyright  In Proceedings of the Fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (4APCEI) 28–30 September 2009 University of Wollongong NSW Australia.

Consequences of Plagiarism

If it is a question of plagiarism, this may be considered an attempt to deceive pursuant to § 17 1 StPO. In this case, the performance of the examination will be assessed as “not sufficient” (5.0). In particularly severe cases (e. g. in the event of a repeated attempt to deceive) the exmatriculation takes place, § 17 4 RStPO. It is also possible to withdraw the university degree after completion of the studies.

Ensuring good scientific work at the HTW Berlin

In order to ensure fair treatment of the study and examination performance of all students and compliance with good scientific practice, cheating in the form of plagiarism must be excluded. Any form of cheating will be punished according to the examination regulations.