GOVERNOR’S SECRETARIAT

PUNJAB

Subject:          HEC PLAGIARISM POLICY. 

                        Kindly find enclosed herewith a copy of letter No.121/CHR/HEC/07/2093, dated 21.09.2007 from Chairman, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad alongwith copy of Plagiarism Policy of Higher Education Commission. 

  • The Governor/Chancellor has been pleased to desire that the Policy may be implemented strictly in letter and spirit.
  • I am directed to request that further necessary action may kindly be taken accordingly. 

                                                                                                                                                 -sd-

                                                                        (Riaz Ahmad Tahir)

                                                                 Deputy Secretary (Admn.)

No.GS(UNIV) 1-47/2006-873, dated 29.09.2007

Implemented in the university vide Notification No.Univ/Regu-III/08/33, dated 07.01.2008 Plagiarism Policy

1.  Preamble

In the wake of fundamental improvements being introduced in the system of Higher Education in  Pakistan,  the credit, respect, recognition  of  research  and scholarly publications,  career  development  and  financial  gains  are  now  linked  with  such original works accomplished without replicating the efforts of other researchers. It has therefore become necessary that the menace of plagiarism is highlighted and curbed through exemplary punitive actions. On the other hand, we must also guard against bogus  or  false  complaints  in  order  to  prevent  victimization  which  may  make researchers and scholars shy away from research simply because of the fear of prosecution.  A  Plagiarism  Policy  has  therefore  become  necessary  to  create awareness,  define  various  forms  in  which  Plagiarism  exhibits  itself,  present  a methodology of investigation, cater for punitive action proportional to the extent of the offence and even address the issue of false or spurious complaints.

2.  Definition

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, Plagiarism is defined as “taking and using the thoughts, writings, and inventions of another person as one’s own”. This, or various similar definitions found in recognized publications / documents, are very  broad  and  can be  used  to  create  awareness  about  Plagiarism  but  are  not practical enough to apply in order to ascertain guilt or innocence in specific cases. In order to establish the  violation of ethical norms, or academic or intellectual dishonesty resulting from Plagiarism and to take punitive actions in this regard, it is  necessary that the variety of forms in which Plagiarism manifests itself are known. These include but are not limited to the following:

  • “Verbatim copying, near-verbatim copying, or purposely paraphrasing portions of  another author’s paper or unpublished report without citing the exact reference.
  • Copying  elements  of  another  author’s  paper,  such  as  equations  or illustrations  that  are not common knowledge, or copying or purposely paraphrasing sentences without citing the source.
  • Verbatim copying portions of another author’s paper or from reports by citing but not clearly differentiating what text has been copied (e.g. not applying  quotation  marks   correctly)  and  /or  not  citing  the  source correctly” [1].

   “The  unacknowledged  use  of  computer  programs,  mathematical  / computer models / algorithms, computer software in all forms, macros, spreadsheets,  web  pages,  databases,  mathematical  deviations  and calculations, designs / models / displays of any sort, diagrams, graphs, tables, drawings, works of art of any sort,  fine art pieces or artifacts, digital images, computer-aided design drawings, GIS files, photographs, maps,  music  /  composition  of  any  sort,  posters,  presentations  and tracing.” [2]

   “Self-plagiarism,  that  is,  the  verbatim  or  near-verbatim  reuse  of significant  portions  of  one’s  own  copyrighted  work  without  citing  the original source.” [1]

  • Explanation from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the web describes and explains Plagiarism as “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the  representation of them as one’s own original work. Unlike cases of forgery, in which the  authenticity  of the writing, document, or some other kind of object itself is in question, plagiarism is concerned with the issue of false attribution. Within  academia, plagiarism by students, professors,  or  researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure. In journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics, and reporters  caught   plagiarizing  typically  face  disciplinary  measures  ranging  from suspension  to  termination.  While  plagiarism  in  scholarship  and  journalism  has  a centuries-old  history,  the  development  of  the  Internet,  where  articles  appear  as electronic text, has made the physical act of copying the work of others much easier. Plagiarism is different from  copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular  act,  they  emphasize  different  aspects  of  the  transgression.  Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of the copyright holder, which involves the loss of income and  artistic control of the material when it is used without the copyright holder’s consent. On the other  hand, plagiarism is concerned  with  the  unearned increment to the plagiarizing author’s reputation. In the academic world, plagiarism by students is a very serious academic offense which can result in punishments such as a failing grade on the particular assignment (typically at the high school level), or a failing grade for the course (typically at the college or university level). For cases of repeated  plagiarism, or for cases where a student has committed a severe type of plagiarism (e.g. copying an entire article and submitting it as his / her own work), a student may be suspended or expelled, and any academic degrees or awards may be revoked. For professors and researchers, who are required to act as role models for their students, plagiarism is a very serious offence, and is  punishable by sanctions ranging from suspension to termination, along with the loss of credibility and integrity. Charges of plagiarism against students, faculty members and staff are typically heard by internal disciplinary committees, which students and faculty members have agreed to be bound by.” [3]

Wikipedia also describes Self-plagiarism as “the re-use of significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of one’s own work without acknowledging that one is doing so or without citing the original work. Typically, high public-interest texts are not a subject of self-plagiarism; however, the authors should not violate copyright where applicable. “Public-interest texts” include such material as social, professional, and cultural opinions usually published in newspapers and magazines.” [3]

  • Aim: The aim of this policy is to apprise students, teachers, researchers and staff about  Plagiarism and how it can be avoided. It is also aimed at discouraging Plagiarism by regulating and authorising punitive actions against those found guilty of the act of Plagiarism.
  • Applicability: The policy is applicable to students, teachers, researchers and staff of all institutions and organizations in Pakistan who are involved in writing or publishing their work. In  this  context a “Student” is a person who, on the date of submission of his / her paper / work is a registered student of any University or Degree Awarding Institution recognized by Higher Education Commission (HEC). “Teachers and  Researchers”  include  faculty  members  or  equivalent  of   the   University  / Organization or/of a constituent or affiliated college or researchers of an organization and such other persons as may be declared to be so by regulations. “Staff” is any employee of an organization involved in writing and publishing his / her work.

Any person listing his CV on the website or any current publication or applying for  any benefit on the basis of published or presented work that is plagiarized will be liable to be punished as per prescribed rules.

  • Responsibility  of  the  Institutions  &  Organizations:  All  institutions  and organizations  are responsible to apprise their students, teachers, researchers and staff  of  the  definition,  implications  and  resulting  punishments  in  case,  after  due investigation, they are found guilty of plagiarism. The institutions / organizations must acquaint their students, teachers, researchers and  staff with this policy and ensure that they are fully aware that all authors are deemed to be individually and collectively responsible for the contents of papers published by Journals / Publishers etc. Hence, it is the responsibility of each author, including the coauthors, to ensure that papers submitted for  publication should attain the highest ethical standards with respect to plagiarism. To facilitate the  institutions / organizations in creating awareness about

Plagiarism, a modified version of “Little Book  of Plagiarism”, a publication of

Leeds Metropolitan University is appended as “Annexure” to this  policy. Any University or Degree Awarding Institution which does not adopt and implement this policy will have its degree derecognized by HEC.

  • Reporting: To inform HEC or respective Universities / Organizations of alleged plagiarism, a  complaint is to be made by email, post, fax or other means to HEC Quality  Assurance  Division  or  respective  Universities  / Organizations.  In  case  of lodging a complaint in the form of a letter, copy may be sent to HEC. The following information is to be provided:
  1. “Citation  of  the  original  paper  or  document  or  idea  which  was plagiarized,  (paper title, author(s), publication title, month and year of publication if available and the journal, in which published, with details). If the original paper is unpublished (e.g. an institutional technical report, an on-line paper), the complainant is to provide as much information as possible to ensure authenticity of the claim.
  • The  citation  of  the  alleged  plagiarizing  paper  (paper  title,  author(s), publication title, month and year of publication if available and the journal with details in which  published). If the paper is unpublished (e.g. an institutional technical report, an  on-line paper), the complainant is to provide as much information as possible to ensure proper investigation.
  • Copies of both papers if possible.
  • Any other information that would help HEC or respective

Universities / Organizations to efficiently resolve the claim.” [1]

  • Name, designation, organization, address, e-mail address and telephone number of the complainant.

Investigation:

  • Upon  receipt  of  an  allegation  of  Plagiarism,  the  HEC  Quality 

Assurance Division  will   request  the  respective  Vice  Chancellor  /  Rector  /  Head  of  the Organization  to  carry  out  investigation.  The  complaints  received  through  HEC  or directly  by  a  University  /  Organization  will  be  dealt  with  by  the  Universities  / Organizations according to the procedures given below. The Vice Chancellor / Rector / Head  of  the  Organization  will  have  the  discretion  of  not  taking  any  action  on anonymous complaints. For investigation of Plagiarism cases, the Vice Chancellor / Rector / Head of Organization will have an obligation to:

  1. Constitute a “Plagiarism Standing Committee” consisting of 3 senior faculty members, a subject specialist in that particular field is to be co- opted, a senior  student (only if a student is being investigated upon) and a nominee of the HEC.The seniority of the members of “Plagiarism Standing Committee” should be of a level keeping in view the seniority of the individual being investigated upon and the nature and gravity of the offence.
  • Provide  a  guideline,  prepared  by  HEC  for  the  functioning  of  the” Plagiarism Standing Committee”, to all members of the Committee.
  • Provide           clear     terms of            reference          to         the

“Plagiarism Standing Committee” for their investigation.

  • The members of the “Plagiarism Standing Committee” are to sign a confidentiality  statement that during the investigation they will, under no circumstances, disclose any individual author’s name, paper titles, referees, or any other personal or specific information concerning the plagiarism  complaint  under  investigation,  nor  shall  they  reveal  the names of the committee members.
  • Provide opportunity to the author / authors under investigation to justify the originality of their concepts and research work. Similar opportunity will also be provided to  the  author whose paper is deemed to have been Plagiarized and / or the complainant, to justify the complaint.
  • Provide every opportunity to the “Plagiarism Standing Committee” to use all foreseeable means to investigate the plagiarism claim.
  • The Plagiarism Standing Committee  shall then conduct the investigation. Depending on the details of the claim, the investigation may include, but may not be limited to, any or all of the following steps:
    • Manual and / or automated tests for content similarity [1].
  • Determination  of the  extent   and   quantum of significant  material plagiarized.
  • Soliciting comments to the claim, from the Editor-in-Chief (of a journal) or Program  Chair  (of conference proceedings) and referees of either or both papers.
  • Consultation with legal counsel. [1]
  • Consult  /  contact  witnesses  and  record  statements  there-of  if  so required.
  • Consult / contact present and / or past employers of the authors.
  1. The “Plagiarism Standing Committee” will submit its report with clear cut findings  and  recommendations  to  the  Vice  Chancellor  /  Rector  /  Head  of  the Organization within a specified period not exceeding sixty days. The Vice Chancellor / Rector  /  Head  of  the  Organization  will   have  the  discretion  to  implement  the recommendations  after  approval  through  the  statutory  process  and  take  punitive action against the offender as per penalties prescribed under this policy or to forward the report to HEC or his / her parent organization for further action if outside their purview / jurisdiction.

Penalties for Plagiarism

11. Plagiarism is an intellectual crime. As such the penalties for plagiarism should not only take  into account the severity and recurrence of the offence, but also the intellectual standing of the offender. This entails a gradual increase in punitive action with minimum punishment for a first time  offence by a student who copies a home work  assignment  to  a  maximum  punishment  for  a  teacher/researcher/staff  who attempts to present / publish, or actually presents / publishes plagiarized material; as his own, in a conference / journal. Therefore, the punishments for  Plagiarism  have been divided into two separate categories, i.e those for “Teachers, Researchers and Staff” and those for the “Students”. The groups have already been defined in para 5 above.

  • Penalties for Teachers, Researchers and Staff:

 When  an  act  of plagiarism, as described earlier in paras 2 and 3, is found to have occurred, the “Plagiarism Standing Committee” in its recommendations, DEPENDING UPON THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROVEN OFFENCE, will advise the Competent Authority of the

Organization, to take any one or a combination of the following disciplinary action(s) against the teacher, researcher and / or staff found guilty of the offence:

  • Major Penalty:

In cases where most of the paper (or key results) have been exactly copied  from  any  published  work  of  other  people  without  giving  the reference to the original work, then (a) a major penalty of dismissal from service needs to be prescribed,  along with (b) the offender may be “Black Listed” and may NOT be eligible for employment in any academic / research organization, and (c) the notification of “Black Listing” of the author(s) may be published in the print media or may be publicized on different websites at the discretion of the ViceChancellor / Rector / Head of the organization.

  • Moderate Penalty:

In case where some paragraphs including some key results have been copied, then a moderate penalty involving any one or both of the following (a) demotion to the next lower grade, (b) the notification of “Black Listing” of the author(s) which may be published in the print media or may be publicized on different websites at the discretion of the Vice-Chancellor / Rector / Head of the organization.

  • Minor Penalty:

In case a few paragraphs have been copied from an external source without giving  reference of that work, then minor penalties need to be prescribed involving  any  one  or  more  of  the following:  (a)  warning,  (b)  freezing  of   all  research  grants should be prescribed for a specified period,  (c)  the promotions/annual increments of the offender may be  stopped, for a specified period and (d) HEC or the University / Organization may debar the  offender  from  sponsorship  o f  research  funding,  travel  grant, supervision  of  Ph.D.  students,  scholarship,  fellowship  or  any  other funded program for a period as deemed appropriate by the “Plagiarism Standing Committee”.

  • Students: When an act of plagiarism, as described earlier in paras 2 and 3, is found to have occurred, the “Plagiarism Standing

                  Committee” in its recommendations,         DEPENDING UPON   THE

SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROVEN OFFENCE, will  advise the Vice Chancellor / Head of  the

Organization, to take any one or a combination of the following disciplinary action(s) against the student(s) found guilty of the offence:

  • In the case of thesis the responsibility of plagiarism will be of the student and not of the supervisor or members of the Supervisory Committee.
  • The offender may be expelled/ rusticated from the University and from joining any  institution of Higher Education in Pakistan for a period as deemed appropriate by the  “Plagiarism Standing Committee”. A notice may  be  circulated  among  all   academic  institutions  and  research organization to this effect.
  • The offender may be relegated to a lower class.
  • The offender may be given a failure grade in the subject.
    • The offender may be fined an amount as deemed appropriate.
    • The offender may be given a written warning if the offence is minor and is committed for the first time.
    • The degree of a student may be withdrawn if AT ANY TIME it is proven that he or she has presented Plagiarized work in his / her MS, MPhil or PhD dissertation if the extent of plagiarism comes under the category of major penalty as conveyed in Para 11(a-1).
    • The notification of the plagiarism by the author(s) may be published in the  print  media  or  may  be  publicized  on  different  websites  at  the discretion of the Vice Chancellor / Rector / Head of the Organization.
    • HEC  or  the  University  /  Organization  may  debar  the  offender  from sponsorship of research funding, travel grant, scholarship, fellowship or any other funded program  for  a period as deemed appropriate by the “Plagiarism Standing Committee”.
    • Any other penalty deemed fit by the “Plagiarism Standing Committee”.
  • Co-Authors/Declarations
  1. Provided that a co-author has listed a paper in his/her resume and applied for a benefit forthwith, any co-author is deemed to be equally responsible for  any plagiarism committed in a published paper presented to or published in  a  journal or presented at a conference.
    1. All  Journals  in  Pakistan  must  require  ALL  authors  to  sign  a declaration that the material presented in the

creative work is not plagiarized (Sample Attached)

12.        Additional Actions Required:                    In  addition  to  the  above 

punishments,  the following  additional common actions must be taken if the offence of Plagiarism is established:

  1. If the plagiarized paper is accessible on the web page its access will be removed. The paper itself will be kept in the database for future research or legal purposes.
  2. The author(s) will be asked to write a formal letter of apology to the authors  of   the   Original  paper  that  was  plagiarized,  including  an admission of plagiarism.  Should the author(s) refuse to comply then additional punishments  as  deemed fit  may be  recommended by the “Plagiarism Standing Committee.
  3. If the paper is submitted but not published yet, the paper will be rejected by the Editor-in-Chief or the Program Chair without further revisions and without any further plagiarism investigation conducted.[1]

However, Warning may be issued to the author/ co-author. 13. Appeal: As the penalties are severe, the affected person(s) will

have the right  to  appeal  to  the  Chairman  HEC  /  Vice  Chancellor  /  Rector  /  Head  of  the Organization for a review of the findings or may submit a mercy petition within 30 days from the date of notification. Such  appeals / petitions will be disposed off within 60 days of receipt, by following the laid down procedures regarding such appeals.

14.        Penalty for Wrong Reporting / False Allegation:         If the case

of Plagiarism is  not  proved  and  it  is  confirmed  that  a  false  allegation  was  lodged,  the  Vice Chancellor  /   Rector   /  Head  of  the  Organization  will  inform  the  complainant’s Organization and will  recommend disciplinary action against the complainant, to be taken by his / her parent organization.

References

  • “ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) Policy on Plagiarism”

(http://www.acm.org/pubs/plagiarism%20policy.html)

  • “Academic Integrity Statement: Appendix1” (University of Southampton Calendar 2006/7)

(http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/part8a.html)

_________________________________________________________

The Higher Education Commission Islamabad vide letter No.I-P/ AD-QA/HEC/Gen/2009/145 dated 26.05.2009 has made following policy decision regarding Plagiarism cases.

Subject:          Policy Decision regarding Plagiarism Cases

Dear Sir,

  In continuation of HEC Plagiarism Policy letter No.I-P/P-SOP/ QA/HEC/2007/483 dated September 27, 2007.

                            I am directed to inform you that as per HEC Plagiarism Policy all plagiarism cases are to be dealt by the respective universities. However, if any case is delayed beyond three months than the HEC may take the case itself. 

                         Moreover, the old cases before the announcement of Plagiarism  policy that is September 27th, 2007 shall not be taken up if the concerned author(s) are not claiming the credit in any way for the paper alleged to be plagiarized.”

                      With kind regards,

Sincerely yours Sd/- Hakim Ali Talpur (Sample)

HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN

(Monograph & Textbook Writing Scheme)

Monograph / Textbook Proposal Submission

                                        Undertaking*

Corresponding author (s) name___________________________

Corresponding author (s) address________________________

Title of work_________________________________________ 

The Higher Education Commission (Publisher) and the Monograph/Textbook Proposal Author (Authors if a multi-authored work) agree as the following:

  1. The Monograph/Book will contain the original Work of authors(s)
  2. it will not violate copyright or intellectual property right of any person or entity.
  3. it will not contain previously published material in whole or in part for which permission from the concerned parties has not been secured.
  4. The author(s) recognized that if any material submitted for consideration to the HEC is found to be plagiarized, then the HEC may bar the author(s) from participating in all HEC Programs and public notice to the fact may be issued in print as well as electronic media. The HEC reserves the right to recover all amounts spent on evaluation/publication etc., and also may take any other action deemed necessary to serve as deterrence against plagiarism.
  • The author(s) shall indemnify and hold the Publisher harmless against loss or expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
  • In consideration of the HEC’s agreement to publish the Work, the author(s) hereby grants HEC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to print, publish, reproduce or distribute the Work throughout the world by all means of expression, including electronic format. The author(s) further grants HEC the right to use the author’s name in association with the Work in published form and in promotional materials.  7. The copyrights are duly reserved by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan

All authors are requested to sign this form. If not signed by all authors, the corresponding author acknowledges that s/he is signing on behalf of all the authors and with their authorization. Faxed signatures and multiple forms are acceptable provided the corresponding author collates all the material and submits in one batch.

Authors Signature:___________________Name;________________________date_________________

Authors Signature:___________________Name;________________________date_________________ Authors Signature:___________________Name;________________________date_________________

Publisher Signature:_________________Name;________________________date_________________

*Similar Scheme could be developed for authors or thesis etc.