(NLDO) - A total of 35 pages in the history doctoral thesis of a department head in Hue contained plagiarism. The conclusion of Hue University confirmed that the accusation was correct.
On November 23, information from Hue University (HU) said that it had just concluded the content of the accusation against Dr. Le Thi An Hoa - Head of Scientific Research Department of Hue Monuments Conservation Center (formerly a PhD student of the 2013 course of the University of Sciences - Hue University).
Accordingly, Ms. Hoa was accused of plagiarism with a total of 35 pages in her doctoral thesis coded 62.22.03.13 with the topic "History of Vietnam: The process of formation, development and transformation of the royal festival in Hue from 1802 to 1945", defended at the Doctoral Thesis Defense Council of Hue University on March 23, 2018. Regarding the plagiarism, the conclusion affirmed that the content of the accusation was correct with the plagiarism determined to be 12 pages.
Ms. Le Thi An Hoa's doctoral thesis was concluded to be plagiarized. Photo: PD.
Many people wonder why there are only 12 pages of plagiarism, so the other pages are accusations of slander? Why was the thesis that had been submitted for archival for a long time and now discovered to be plagiarized withdrawn for revision? What is the responsibility of the supervisor and the doctoral thesis defense council? Reporters of the Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper had an interview with Dr. Nguyen Cong Hao, Head of the Inspection and Legal Department of Hue University about the content of this conclusion.
+ Reporter: The complaint provided full evidence of 35 pages of plagiarism , but why did Hue University only accept it? determined to have 12 pages of plagiarism , sir?
Dr. Nguyen Cong Hao: I affirm that this conclusion is very strict, in accordance with regulations, and scientifically sound. This conclusion is based on the report of the entire Council for the Evaluation of Academic Integrity of Doctoral Thesis of the University of Sciences - Hue University ( abbreviated as the Council - PV) and not the opinion of any individual. Because it is completely related to expertise, the Council invited leading professors from both ends of the country to participate and did a very thorough review.
Content of the conclusion of the accusation
In which, the content of Ms. Le Thi An Hoa's doctoral thesis has many paragraphs, ideas, and paragraphs that are similar to the works of other authors that have been published without the author citing the source, accordingly, the plagiarism error is determined to be 12 pages. Regarding historical errors, the accusation is partially correct. Regarding the content of the articles, the conclusion stated "Regarding the author's articles, the content assessment upon publication is the responsibility of the editorial board of the journal, the training institution only verifies whether the content of the article is related to the content of the doctoral thesis or not".
The accuser presented evidence of 35 pages of plagiarism. The council examined and evaluated the plagiarism levels of these pages, some pages had 3 lines of plagiarism, some had 5 lines; this page had 5% of plagiarism, that page had 7%... And applying the total calculation method, we concluded that 12 pages had plagiarism. Therefore, we affirm that the content of the accusation is correct, not that the remaining 23 pages are incorrect and slanderous. In the conclusion, it is impossible to list how much this page plagiarized, what percentage that page had... because that would be too long. But in a very strict process, the council's report is quite detailed and complete.
+ Ms. Hoa's doctoral thesis was clearly found to have plagiarism, but Hue University only required editing and submitting a copy. Is this correct, sir?
Dr. Nguyen Cong Hao: It is not that simple. In the conclusion of the accusation, the recommendation section includes two authorities. The first authority is that of the Director of Hue University. Specifically, after the council proposes, it finds that the contents are plagiarized and have incorrect historical data, it is recommended that the author seriously accept and edit the contents pointed out in the conclusion of the accusation and submit them for deposit according to current regulations.
But it does not stop there, the second idea is to assign the University of Science - Hue University to coordinate with the Training and Student Affairs Department of Hue University to monitor and confirm the author's thesis revision according to the conclusion of the accusation.
What is plagiarism?
The Decision of the Director of Hue University on Regulations on academic integrity in master's and doctoral training at Hue University dated November 30, 2023 clearly states: Plagiarism is the use of ideas, paragraphs, data or intellectual property of others in general without citing the source.
The third point is the most important. This is the second authority. That is to recommend that the Minister of Education and Training (MOET) establish a council to evaluate the content of Ms. Le Thi An Hoa's doctoral thesis to resolve it according to authority. We have reported and proposed to the MOET. Based on the records of Hue University, the ministry will certainly recommend that the Minister establish a council to take the next step.
Currently, the training regulations are very clear. If after discovering the integrity, the thesis is eliminated and re-evaluated to see if the content of the thesis is guaranteed or not, the authority belongs to the Minister of Education and Training. With the final results, Hue University will take the next steps. If later the Ministry of Education and Training evaluates and concludes that if those parts are eliminated but still guaranteed, then the thesis is still guaranteed; but not guaranteed is another matter. The regulations are like that, many people say that the handling of the plagiarism of this thesis is quite lenient, but that is not true. We must ensure that the accuser and the accused are treated fairly, especially in accordance with the regulations.
+ From this incident, is the training and organization of thesis defense for graduate students at Hue University easy, sir?
Dr. Nguyen Cong Hao: Hue University has never been lenient in this matter. Hue University has a very strict training process, a tradition and is very prestigious. The dissertations have always been done very strictly according to the process. After a doctoral student defends his thesis, Hue University must report to the Ministry of Education and Training for the ministry to evaluate, including the evaluation of the training process. And up to now, there has never been a thesis of Hue University that has not been evaluated by the ministry, this speaks to the quality of our training. As for the plagiarism of Ms. Le Thi An Hoa's doctoral thesis, it is only a very rare event.
Thank you!
Source: https://nld.com.vn/dai-hoc-hue-giai-thich-ket-luan-luan-an-tien-si-dao-van-12-trang-196241123152202255.htm
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