Good study practices

Metropolia is committed to TENK's guidelines (National research integrity board) of Good Scientific Practice and investigation of research misconduct in Finland. This means that university students must also know the practices and be part in promoting good research practices and a responsible research culture. 

The research follows the operating methods recognized by the scientific community, i.e. honesty, general care and precision in the research work, in recording and presenting the results, and in the evaluation of its results.  

Data acquisition, research and evaluation methods that comply with the criteria of scientific research and are ethically sustainable are applied to the research. The research implements the transparency and responsible science communication that is part of the nature of scientific information when publishing the results of the research. 

Researchers take the work and achievements of other researchers into account in an appropriate way, so that they respect the work done by other researchers and refer to their publications in an appropriate way and give their achievements the value and importance they deserve in their own research and when publishing its results. 

The research is planned and carried out and reported on, and the resulting datasets are stored in accordance with the requirements set for scientific information. 

The necessary research permits have been acquired and the ethical assessment required in certain fields has been carried out. 

The student holds responsibility for their own work. In the following paragraph, the most important rights and responsibilities are introduced.

Responsibilities:

• The student knows the principles of good scientific practice in studying
• Responsibilities of scientific practice
• General principles of human research
• The premises of ethical evaluations, the necessity, and the process
• The student acts honestly
  • Respects the value of the work done by others
  • Supports the way the scientific community works with their own activities

Rights:

• The student has a right to guidance
• The right to receive justifications for evaluations
• The right to retake and exam
• The right to request rectification

According to the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (TENK), actions contrary to good scientific practice can be divided into two main categories. These are negligence and fraud.

Negligence: 

• downplaying the contributions of other researchers in publications
• carelessly and thereby misleadingly reporting research results or the methods used
• incomplete recording and preservation of results and research data
• publishing the same results multiple times as seemingly new (so-called self-plagiarism)
• misleading the scientific community in other ways regarding one's own research work.

Fraud includes, for example:

• Fabrication, which involves presenting fictitious observations to the scientific community
• Distortion of observations, i.e., intentionally modifying or presenting original observations in a way that distorts the resulting outcome. Distortion also includes not presenting results or information essential to conclusions.
• Plagiarism, which is unauthorized borrowing. It involves presenting someone else's published research plan, manuscript, article, or other text or its part, visual expression, or translation as one's own. Plagiarism can be both direct and paraphrased copying.
• Theft: the unauthorized presentation or use in one's own name of another person's research result, idea, plan, observations, or material.

In addition, fraudulent activities at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences include:

• Cheating or any similar activity during exams
• Fraudulent completion or documentation of internship periods • Outsourcing the writing of written assignments, exercises, theses, or other work to someone else.

Information source: Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK

Note that Metropolia is committed to following the guidelines of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity for Good Scientific Practice. Even if you are not involved in research or development projects during your studies, following these principles a priority in all of Metropolia's activities, including basic studies!

The purpose of marking sources (citations) is primarily that:

• The author demonstrates what is their own interpretation and what is information produced by someone else.
• Secondly, through citations, the reader can access the original information, compare your observations or results, or verify the accuracy of the information. Therefore, it is crucial to show the reader where the information supporting your observations or results comes from and the source of the data.

During your studies, you will produce various types of texts, such as essays, reports, and even a thesis. In these, you must clearly indicate what is your own text or interpretation and what is information or text produced by someone else.

There are various discipline-specific ways to make source references. The essential thing is to adhere to good scientific practice and consistently mark the sources, regardless of the citation method you choose. Remember that the citation style should not be changed within the text.

Remember: Precision is worthwhile because you cannot know who will read your thesis in the future... Your thesis is a permanently public document!

* Read more on TENK's site

What do I do, if I find interesting information in a publication or article, can I copy it into my own work? 

You can:

• Utilize the information in your work as long as you reference the specific article appropriately

You can't

• Copy it verbatim without referencing the original publication. • Present the information as your own observation.

If I find interesting information in an article. I couldn't find the author's name anywhere. Can I use the information as my own if I present it in a slightly modified form?

No, you cannot

• present information created by someone else as your own. Plagiarism includes both direct and paraphrased copying. It could also be considered theft if you present information created by someone else in your own name.

In a certain book, there is a good and relevant text for my work, but it is 2 pages long. Can I quote the entire text if I cite the source?

Consider carefully.

• Making long quotations is generally unnecessary, and there must be a particularly justified reason for it.
• If a justified reason exists, you can quote a longer passage, but be sure to reference the source appropriately.

In my friend's thesis, there are observations crucial for my own work. My friend has given permission to use the information. Do I need to mention their thesis separately in my work, or can I directly copy the information since they have already given permission?

Yes, you need to.

• Sources must always be cited. Simply having permission from your friend is not sufficient, so you must reference your friend's thesis just like any other source

If I'm looking for information online. Can't I use information from websites without citing sources since the internet is open to everyone?

You cannot.

• Websites and the information on them are not an exception. So, you must also reference them if you use their information.

If I write 'the sun rises in the east,' do I need to find supporting reference information from an astronomy textbook?

Not necessarily.

• When writing about clearly general things, a source reference is not needed.

I would like to modify this text: “The Jukola house, in Southern Tavastia, stands on the northern slope of a certain hill, close to Toukola village.” (Aleksis Kivi: Seven brothers) Could I present the text in my own name, for example, like this: “The Jukola house is located in Southern Tavastia. It is on the northern slope of a certain hill, nearby Toukola village.”?

You cannot.

• It would be plagiarism if you publish the text in your own name.

Instead,

• You can reference the original text.

Author A references person B's text in their work. I can't find B's original text anywhere, so can I just reference B's text as it appears in A's publication?

Consider this carefully.

• You can reference, but it's not recommended. This is a so-called second-hand citation. It's difficult for the reader to access the original information. It's also possible that even A wasn't sure about B's text.

I have found relevant information. Some is from entertainment magazines, and some is from the internet. Shouldn't all of these be included in my text? After all, they support the idea I have developed in my thesis.

Consider this carefully.

• Not all sources should be used just because they support your observations.
• Be source-critical!

I want to use an unpublished manuscript or thesis etc. Can I cite it?

You can.

• It is sufficient to make a proper citation and indicate in the citation or reference list that the text is unpublished.

The Board of Examiners handles appeals concerning course performance, as referred to in section 19 of the Universities of Applied Sciences Act, and disciplinary cases, as referred to in section 38 of the same act. The process of handling disciplinary matters is described below.

1. Observation or reporting of misconduct: A lecturer who suspects a student of having committed misconduct in his or her studies must suspend the completion of the studies immediately. The student’s course performance will not be recorded and the performance cannot continue before the suspected misconduct has been investigated.
2. Discussion: The lecturer must discuss his or her suspicion with the student. If it is found in the discussion that the student is not guilty of misconduct, the matter need not be processed further.
3. Notification to the Board of Examiners: The lecturer will refer the case to be handled by the Board of Examiners after Step I in moderate cases where the handling of the case has not been concluded, and without exception in gross cases.
4. Handling by the board of examiners: After the preparation, the Board of Examiners will convene to handle the case. Before the meeting, the aforementioned documents are sent to the student and he or she is asked to provide a written response
5. Decision: If the Board of Examiners finds that misconduct was committed, the President and CEO will decide whether a written warning will be issued to the student, and the Board of Directors will decide on the temporary expulsion of the student or on the revocation and reinstatement of the student’s right to study.
    

Student's Guide

The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences Arene

TENK's guidelines and other publications

Principles of responsible RDI at Metropolia

The Human Sciences Ethics Committee of the Helsinki Region Universities of Applied Sciences

Metropolia LibGuides