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:

  • As stated in the Doctoral Regulations: 'a plagiarism check will be carried
    out on anything appropriate which has been produced within the framework of the doctoral programme'. This may be a first (draft) chapter or article, or an abstract, 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 an email from the Doctoral School to announce that the Phd candidate will receive login details for the iThenticate account*, with the request to save this information

In the next week, the PhD candidate will receive a noreply email (so check your spam box) with login information on the new iThenticate account

Two years after the start date of the PhD trajectory - if applicable - the PhD candidate will receive an email from Hora Finita, saying: 'We have not yet received your product for the plagiarism check (..)'

*Please also check the information below, under 'No iThenticate (yet)?'

No iThenticate account (yet)?

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

If you would like to get an iThenticate account earlier than a year and a half after the start date of the PhD trajectory, please send a request including your VUnet ID to the Amsterdam UMC/VU iThenticate Key user

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

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

That is allowed!

First you need an iThenticate account. Send a request to the Amsterdam UMC/VU iThenticate Key user.

    Downloads: