Plagiarism detection
Aarhus University has 2 plagiarism detection systems, iThenticate and Urkund.
Urkund is primarily used in conjunction with the digital exam systems Wiseflow and Digital Exam. Urkund is integrated into these systems, thus all material submitted to Wiseflow and Digital Exam is checked by Urkund.
Urkund is a system for detecting plagiarism in student assignments at AU. AU Library fulfills the role of the University’s primary support for Urkund users. AU Library has solid experience using the system. They provide support for system use, and are also a key player in relation to the prevention of plagiarism at Aarhus University.
iThenticate is used by Health and Science & Technology to detect plagiarism in PhD theses.
Access to Urkund and iThenticate cannot be granted as a means of checking one’s own material, as the system’s structure is not designed in a way that makes it suitable for such a purpose. Such use would also place an undue focus on the system and what it can and cannot do, rather than on it’s core purpose which is to manage and promote good practice in citing, paraphrasing, etc.
Questions about Urkund?
If you have question about Urkund, please contact urkundsupport.aul@kb.dk, or your local faculty representative.
We support Urkund on weekdays within normal working hours (8.00-15.30). During holidays / holidays we refer to Urkund's own support to the extent that they are open (this is stated via the Urkund website and our mail-reply).
The Royal Library Urkund support is located under the AU faculties and a list of contact details can be found under "Your faculty representative".
Lecturers and staff have access to Urkund analyses via Wiseflow or Digital Exam. Contact our support and hear about other options for screening texts for plagiarism: urkundsupport.aul@kb.dk.
What is Urkund?
Urkund is a plagiarism detection tool, accessible to all lecturers at Aarhus University via the Digital Exam systems.
Urkund can detect overlaps between texts and thus help to spot cheating in written assignments. Urkund searches in 3 different sources: the Internet, material from publishers and previously screened tasks from institutions with a license to the system.
Please note that Urkund does not work in conjunction with all the publishers that AU Library provides access to. See a list on Urkund's own website. The list is not exhaustive. Please contact your faculty representative if you have any questions about specific publishers, or if you have suggestions for journals that you would like to see included in Urkund's comparison base. We will then contact Urkund in order to discover what possibilities are available to meet your needs.
How do I use Urkund?
Urkund is mostly employed in relation to the digital exam systems, where tasks are screened automatically. Urkund is integrated into Wiseflow and Digital Exam.
Urkund can also be used on an ad hoc basis in special cases. Contact our support to learn more: urkundsupport.aul@kb.dk or contact your local faculty representative.
Manuals and guides to Urkund
- Quickstart guide - a guide on how to begin receiving Urkund analyses
- See an example of an Urkund analysis
- Find all Urkund manuals and guides
If I suspect plagiarism
If you suspect plagiarism in an assignment, it is important that you do not consider the Urkund analysis to be concrete proof the student has committed plagiarism.
Urkund highlights only duplicate text areas between documents, and duplicate text does not necessarily equal plagiarism. Duplicate text may, for example, be a quote that has been viably inserted into a task and where a clear source has been documented. An Urkund analysis must be read in its context in order to determine whether any plagiarism has occurred.
The Urkund analysis must be studied with a view to determining whether it is just a matter of careless citation practice or plagiarism. If you need help finding out how to read an Urkund analysis, AU Library Urkund Support are there to assist you.
If, after having studied an Urkund analysis thoroughly, you have decided to proceed with a case, you must report and document the case to Educational Law. Educational Law will handle the subsequent processing of the case, based on your documentation.
More about plagiarism - for students and lecturers
It is important that students are made aware of the rules on documenting sources and managing references, in order to avoid plagiarism. AU Library has a made number of resources available, which you can share with your students.
- AU Library's page on how to avoid plagiarism - for students - includes information on reference management, stopplagiat.nu, etc.
- AU’s page concerning cheating in exams - for students - on the consequences of plagiarism, how to avoid cheating, etc.
- Avoiding pitfalls in exams – a guide for students on how to avoid cheating in exams.
As a lecturer, and researcher, we have the following information pages for you:
- AU Library's page on how to avoid plagiarism - for lecturers - "what do I do if I encounter plagiarism?", "what can I do to prevent plagiarism?", etc.
- Plagiarism, crediting and good citation practice - the researcher portal's page on plagiarism, etc.
- AU's page on responsible research practice - includes, among other things, a code of conduct for responsible research practice and guidelines for research integrity.
Urkund - Central support
Your faculty representative
Natural Sciences and Technical Sciences
AU Library is part of the preventive measures against plagiarism. We are always ready to give presentations, and enter into a dialogue on how we help can strengthen students' awareness of academic integrity, good citation practice, reference management and source criticism. Please contact your faculty representative to learn more.
AU Library has also assembled information on the subject for students.