1.1. This Regulation regulates the procedure for checking text documents of students of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) for plagiarism.

The Regulation was developed in accordance with the State Compulsory Standard of Higher Education, the State Compulsory Standard of Postgraduate Education, approved by the Order of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 20, 2022 №2, «Model Regulations for the Activities of Organizations of Higher and (or) Postgraduate Education», approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 30, 2018 №595, «Rules for the award of degrees», approved by Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 №127, «Model Regulations on the Dissertation Council», approved by Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 №126, «Academic policy of  Al-Farabi Kazakh National University», approved on September 29, 2022, «Regulations on the dissertation council of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University», approved on June 22, 2021.

This Regulation determines the procedure for checking text documents using a digital system for detecting borrowings which operates at the University (hereinafter referred to as the System).

1.2. The Regulation is mandatory for all structural divisions of the University involved in the life cycle of training specialists with higher and postgraduate education.

1.3. Text documents include written assessed work of students:

– term papers;

– bachelor theses (projects), master theses (projects), doctoral dissertations;

– text documents created by students in electronic format in response to the examination task during the final control: written answers to the examiner's questions when passing a standard written exam, essays, case studies, project work and written reports on their implementation.

1.4. The procedure for checking for plagiarism in text documents that are not related to final thesis is determined by lecturer based on the recommendations of the Academic Committee for the quality of learning and teaching, the instructions of the Department on Academic issues for conducting final control using distance learning technologies. The procedure may include checking the text documents using specialized online services, conducting an expertise of borrowed text, the presence of inaccurate citations, attempts to disguise plagiarism and other types of technical bypasses.

1.5. Plagiarism should be understood as the use of someone else's text, ideas, including auto-plagiarism without indicating the true authorship (without references to sources), or the use of borrowed materials with references in such a form and volume that question the independence of the work performed. False references are also considered as a form of plagiarism.

1.6. Other forms of plagiarism include:

– use of translated material without reference;

– paraphrasing - the use of someone else's text with a synonymous replacement of words and expressions without changing the meaning.

1.7. Ways to mask plagiarism include:

– homoglyphia (character substitutions);

– change the color of the text to the background;

– use of small and very small font;

– use different font sizes or different types of fonts in one text;

– splitting words into parts;

– change of intercharacter/line spacing;

– use of words and symbols hidden one after another;

– presentation of text in the form of images;

– converting a text document from Word to PDF;

– other methods of technical bypass that Systems detect, and the staff, who check the reports of the System, confirm attempts of masking plagiarism.

1.8. If technical bypasses are detected in order to mask plagiarism in the text documents specified in subparagraph 1.3. using the methods listed in subparagraph 1.7., the written work of the student is canceled.

2.1. Verification of text documents made by students in accordance with the requirements of the syllabus of the discipline: IWS/IWM / IWD and other tasks in writing are carried out:

– in the information system for automating the educational process Univer 2.0 (hereinafter referred to as IS Univer 2.0) with System usage;

– in LMS Moodle - with System usage.

2.2. Verification of text documents (written answers to the examiner's questions, essays, cases, design work and written reports on their implementation) created by students in electronic format as an answer to the examination task during the final control is carried out:

– in IS Univer 2.0 with System usage;

– in LMS Moodle with System usage.

2.3. Verification for plagiarism in the final qualifying works of students at the level of higher and postgraduate education is carried out in the IS Univer 2.0 using System.

2.4. Checking doctoral dissertations for plagiarism is carried out directly on the web resource of System.

3.1. When passing a standard written exam online, a student uploads a text document to IS Univer 2.0. The examiner checks the student's text document. In System, conducts a verification of the system's full report on similarities, based on the indicators "Similarity", "Citations", "Originality", "Text recycling". Identifies attempts to disguise similarities in the written response of the student. Based on the verification results, it recalculates the indicators of the full report. In the absence of violations of the requirements of this Regulation, the examiner sets the final score based on the percentage of the originality of work for a certain level of education, which is approved by the academic council of the faculty.

In the presence of violations, it sets a score in accordance with the percentage of originality established in reports of System.

If technical detours are detected to mask plagiarism, the student's written work is canceled.

3.2. When passing asynchronous distance exams in the formats of project, essay, case, combined project exams, the student uploads a text document to LMS Moodle. If the percentage of originality set by the "Antiplagiat" system satisfies the established requirements, student sends his work to the examiner in LMS Moodle.

The examiner checks the student's text document. In the "Antiplagiat" system, conducts an verification of the system's full report on similarities, based on the indicators "Similarity", "Citations", "Originality", "Text recycling". Identifies attempts to disguise similarities in the written response of the student. Based on the verification results, it recalculates the indicators of the full report. In the absence of violations of the requirements of this Regulation, the examiner sets the final score based on the percentage of the originality of work for a certain level of education, which is established by faculties.

In the absence of violations of the requirements of this Regulation, the examiner sets the final score based on the percentage of the uniqueness of the content of the work for a certain level of education, which is established by the methodological council of the faculty.

In the presence of violations, it sets a score in accordance with the percentage of originality established in reports of the "Antiplagiat" system because of the examination.

If technical detours are detected to mask plagiarism, the student's written work is canceled.

4.1. The student downloads the work into IS Univer 2.0. If the percentage of uniqueness set by System satisfies the established requirements, the student sends his work to the supervisor through the system. The supervisor examines the student's text document. Based on the following indicators -  "Borrowing", "Citations", "Originality", "Self-quoting" -  in System, supervisor checks full report. Supervisor identifies if there were attempts to disguise plagiarism in the thesis. Based on the expertise, it recalculates the indicators of the full report. If there are no violations of the requirements of the Regulation, the supervisor forwards the thesis to the database, where individual QR code is assigned to each thesis. The report is valid only if there is a QR code.

4.2. Bachelor thesis (project), the percentage of unique content of which is less than 75%, are not allowed to defense.

4.3. Master thesis (project), the percentage of unique content of which is less than 80%, are not allowed to defense.

4.4. According to the specifics of the educational program, if there is a written justification from the Faculty, the threshold percentage of uniqueness of the thesis can be reduced, but not less than 70%.  

4.5. If evidence of plagiarism is found in the thesis, measures are taken in accordance with Section 1.28 of the Policy of Academic Integrity.

5.1. The procedure for checking doctoral dissertations for plagiarism is determined by the Regulations on the dissertation council of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

5.2. Doctoral dissertations are checked for a plagiarism at the following stages:

– at the stage of extended meeting of the department for doctoral dissertation discussion;

– at the stage of accepting a dissertation for defense by academic secretaries of dissertation councils;

– at the stage of reviewing dissertations by official and unofficial reviewers;

–  in the Joint Stock Company "National Center for State Scientific and Technical Expertise".

Regulations on checking text documents of students for the presence of borrowings