VroniPlag Wiki
Encyclopedia
The VroniPlag Wiki is a Wiki
started 28 March 2011 at Wikia
that examines and documents the extent of plagiarism
in German doctoral theses.
. "Vroni" is a nickname in German for "Veronica".
VroniPlag only openly publishes plagiarism documentation on theses that have been found to contain plagiarism on at least 10% of the pages. Before publication, the office of academic integrity at the university in question is formally notified.
All cases that have been investigated by the university and concluded have agreed with the findings documented in the wiki about the plagiarism, and they all have resulted in the revocation of the degree
. It is the first crowd sourcing
phenomenon of its kind in Germany that has been referred to as an authoritative source in all major media channels in Germany. It has triggered an extensive nationwide discussion about plagiarism and its consequences for the plagiarists and for the universities.
A part of the discussion has also focused on criticism concerning the pseudonym
ity of the people contributing to the wiki.
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
started 28 March 2011 at Wikia
Wikia
Wikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
that examines and documents the extent of plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
in German doctoral theses.
History
Following the revocation of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's doctoral degree, the VroniPlag Wiki adopted the idea of the GuttenPlag Wiki. VroniPlag is named after the first thesis documented in it, the thesis submitted by Veronica Saß, daughter of German politician Edmund StoiberEdmund Stoiber
Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union...
. "Vroni" is a nickname in German for "Veronica".
Modus operandi
Publication of a thesis consists of an overview that contains a "bar code" visualizing the amount of plagiarism, the exact bibliographic information of the theses (and if online, a link) and then a page overview that links to the fragments of plagiarism found on the page. Each fragment is classified as to the kind of plagiarism and must be verified by a second person before it is acceptable. Interesting parts are linked to separately and there is a final report published when the group feels the work is done.VroniPlag only openly publishes plagiarism documentation on theses that have been found to contain plagiarism on at least 10% of the pages. Before publication, the office of academic integrity at the university in question is formally notified.
Current cases
As of July 2011 there are seven theses on the list:| Author of the Dissertation | | Political Party | Member of | % of the pages found with plagiarism on date (Link) | Consequences | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDP | --- | 46.31 % on 12. Juli 2011 | Under investigation | Bonn University of Bonn The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number... |
|
| SPD | --- | 25.98 % on 15. Juni 2011 | Doctorate rescinded | Hamburg University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of... |
|
| FDP | Bundestag Bundestag The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier... |
44.44 % on 11. Juli 2011 | Under investigation | Cologne University of Cologne The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities... |
|
| FDP | European Parliament European Parliament The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world... |
71.58 % on 15. Juni 2011 | Doctorate rescinded | Bonn University of Bonn The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number... |
|
| FDP | European Parliament European Parliament The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world... |
34.33 % on 17. Juni 2011 | Doctorate rescinded | Heidelberg | |
| CDU | Landtag of Baden-Württemberg Landtag of Baden-Württemberg The Landtag of Baden-Württemberg is the state diet of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. It convenes in Stuttgart and currently consists of 139 members of four Parties... |
53.15 % on 26. Juni 2011 | Doctorate rescinded | Tübingen | |
| --- | --- | 53.98 % on 25. Mai 2011 | Doctorate rescinded | Konstanz University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 1966, and the main campus on the Gießberg was opened in 1972. As one of nine German Excellence Universities today University of Konstanz is counted among Germany's most prestigious... |
All cases that have been investigated by the university and concluded have agreed with the findings documented in the wiki about the plagiarism, and they all have resulted in the revocation of the degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
. It is the first crowd sourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
phenomenon of its kind in Germany that has been referred to as an authoritative source in all major media channels in Germany. It has triggered an extensive nationwide discussion about plagiarism and its consequences for the plagiarists and for the universities.
A part of the discussion has also focused on criticism concerning the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
ity of the people contributing to the wiki.