To do:

All PhD candidates at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam/Amsterdam UMC are given the opportunity to check their research for plagiarism, using the iThenticate tool. With this, VU underlines the importance of scientific integrity in line with the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (NGWI), wants to stimulate awareness at an early stage of the PhD process and therefore emphasizes the preventive nature of the plagiarism check

First phase of the PhD program

The PhD regulations state that all PhD candidates who started their PhD trajectory as of 1 September 2022 are required to submit one appropriate product to a plagiarism check in the first phase of the PhD trajectory

In addition, all PhD candidates, including those who started before 1 September 2022, can make use of the tool voluntarily with a maximum of once a year

The plagiarism check consists of a preventive plagiarism scan of a produced text before the end of the second year of the PhD track. The PhD candidate discusses the results of the plagiarism scan with their supervisor or co-supervisor; based on this discussion a report is produced

(The information above is part of the information available on the VU University Amsterdam website)

Necessary documents:

  • A first chapter or article, which the (co)supervisor and the PhD candidate together have found to be appropriate to do a plagiarism check
  • An iThenticate account (see below)
  • Template for reporting the analyses of the scan (see below)

Tips:

Attention for plagiarism scan

  • Amsterdam UMC calls attention to the mandatory plagiarism scan in the PhD Plans of the Research Institutes. See Training and supervision
  • In the training Scientific Integrity as well as during the intake meeting with one of the Doctoral School PhD advisors (shortly after registering at the Doctoral School) plagiarism is one of topics covered

About a year and a half after the start date of the PhD trajectory, the PhD candidate will receive three emails:

  1. An email with a.o. an invitation to scan a chapter or article. The invitation will automatically be sent by the Doctoral School Registration system
  2. A noreply email with login information on the new iThenticate account
  3. Shortly before the PhD candidate receives this noreply email, the Doctoral School sends an announcement email, in which the Phd candidate is invited to log in to the iThenticate account and to save his login details

Two years after the startdate of the PhD trajectory, the PhD candidate will receive a reminder from Hora Finita

    No iThenticate account?

    • Under the condition that the PhD candidate has a VUnet ID, they get an iThenticate account automatically

      • If the PhD candidate has no VUnet ID, the supervisor with an iThenticate account scans the PhD candidate's article in iThenticate
      • If the supervisor does not have an iThenticate account (or VUnet ID), please turn to the Amsterdam UMC/VU iThenticate Key user for faculty support and to run the scan
      • The PhD candidate and (co)supervisor must in all cases have a conversation

    Process outline in brief

    A Quick Starting Libguide and FAQ can be found on the webpage of the VU University Library, as well as information on hora Finita on the VU website

    Please find links to relevant documents in downloads below, in which the starting points of the plagiarism check are summarized, and each step is explained

    How it works

    • A plagiarism check needs to be done in the first two years of the PhD trajectory, on a product - such as a first chapter or article - the (co)supervisor and the PhD candidate together have found to be suitable

      • if this is not feasible, because you do not yet have an appropriate product ready, send a substantiated request for postponement to the dean; send a copy to your supervisor
    • The PhD candidate is responsible for carrying out the plagiarism check
    • A scan is performed in iThenticate
    • iThenticate will show a percentage that reflects the level of matches between the scanned text and published texts in a large database
    • The outcome of the plagiarism scan needs to be analyzed by the supervisor, together with the PhD candidate
    • After the conversation, the (co)supervisor is asked to draw up a report (template below) in which it will be stated whether or not plagiarism has been found

    • The (co-)supervisor delivers the report to the Amsterdam UMC/VU key user iThenticate, who ensures that it is uploaded in Hora Finita

      • A plagiarism scan showing no plagiarism is a condition to be able to go through the further process in the run-up to the defence in Hora Finita
      • If plagiarism has occurred, a second plagiarism scan on the entire thesis is mandatory at the end of the PhD track
      • If it turns out that there is no plagiarism, a second plagiarism scan is not mandatory, but allowed (however, this will not be registered in Hora Finita)

    Did you start your PhD before 1-9-2022 and would you like to do a plagiarism check?

    Downloads: