A) KEY TERMS

“Academic Integrity” involves the commitment to honesty – both to oneself and to others, and impartiality – the readiness to assess ideas and work on their merits. It requires ensuring that one’s professional and academic performance and contributions are genuine and properly credited. While academic integrity promotes original and good quality work, it also fosters a culture of trust, and the credibility of academic research.

“Plagiarism” means the practice of taking someone else’s work or idea and passing them as one’s own.

“Information” includes data, message, text, images, sound, voice, codes, computer programs, software and databases or microfilm or computer generated microfiche.

“Script” includes research paper, thesis, dissertation, chapters in books, full-fledged books and any other similar work, submitted for assessment / opinion leading to the award of master and research level degrees or publication in print or electronic media by students or faculty or researcher or staff of an HEI; however, this shall exclude assignments / term papers / project reports / course work / essays and answer scripts etc.

“Source” means the published primary and secondary material from any source whatsoever and includes written information and opinions gained directly from other people, including eminent scholars, public figures and practitioners in any form whatsoever as also data and information in the electronic form be it audio, video, image or text.

B) INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS

The Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP) has been constituted in the institute as per the regulations issued by the UGC (Notification dated 23rd July 2018) titled Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions, 2018. These regulations apply to students, faculty researchers and staff of the Institute.

The objectives of the IAIP are as follows:

To create awareness about responsible conduct of research, thesis, dissertation, promotion of academic integrity and prevention of misconduct including plagiarism in academic writing among student, faculty, researcher and staff.

To establish institutional mechanism through education and training to facilitate responsible conduct of research, thesis, dissertation, promotion of academic integrity and deterrence from plagiarism.

To develop systems to detect plagiarism and to set up mechanisms to prevent plagiarism and punish a student, faculty, researcher or staff of HEI committing the act of plagiarism.

Detection, Reporting and Handling of Plagiarism

If any member of the academic community suspects with appropriate proof that a case of plagiarism has happened in any document, he or she shall report it to the Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP).

The authorities of institute can also take suomotu notice of an act of plagiarism and initiate proceedings under these regulations. Similarly, proceedings can also be initiated by the institute on the basis of findings of an examiner. All such cases will be investigated by the IAIP

Penalties

Penalties in the cases of plagiarism shall be imposed on students pursuing studies at the level of Masters and Research programs and on researcher, faculty & staff of the institute only after academic misconduct on the part of the individual has been established without doubt, when all avenues of appeal have been exhausted and individual in question has been provided enough opportunity to defend himself or herself in a fair or transparent manner.

C) COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

KRVIA will retain all ownership and intellectual property to the services, documentations, reports, media, etc that are produced through the various research initiatives in the institute. The institute can reproduce, publish, exhibit, or circulate these works in any form. The authorship for research work will remain solely with the faculty-researchers who have worked on the project.

As a general principle, only the authors / researchers of a project have the right to present their own work outside the institution (in seminars, conferences, public forums, etc), provided all the other contributors as well as the institute is duly acknowledged.