When plagiarism checks of scientific papers are pending

Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
Theodor-Körner-Allee 16
02763 Zittau

Please direct any inquiries regarding data processing to datenschutz(at)hszg.de
Your inquiry will be forwarded to the appropriate department and processed promptly.

The data protection officer can be contacted at

DID Dresdner Institut für Datenschutz
Hospitalstraße 4
01097 Dresden

Web.: www.dids.de
Phone: +49 (0)351 / 655 772 - 0
E-mail: dsb(at)hszg.de

The final dissertations provided to the examiners/reviewers are submitted, in part or in full—but with their content unchanged—to the web-based plagiarism detection platform PlagAware, where they are checked for similarities with other texts. The texts submitted for the purpose of the review are stored by PlagAware. Following the review, PlagAware provides the examiner or reviewer with a review report.

The data is transmitted and stored in order to check students’ final dissertations for similarities with online sources and other reference texts as part of an electronic search. The examiner or reviewer may use the results of the search as part of the evaluation of this student’s examination component to rule out or confirm instances of deception or academic dishonesty.

As part of its educational mission and in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR and Section 3(2), second sentence, of the Saxon Data Protection Implementation Act, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has a legitimate interest in texts that meet academic standards, that are the subject of or form part of an examination component within the course of study. In accordance with the examination regulations for the degree programmes at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, examiners and evaluators are required to prevent, detect, and penalize attempts at academic dishonesty.

The results of the electronic plagiarism check are provided to the examining professor or reviewer who requested the check in the form of an audit report. If the examiner or reviewer concludes that the text under review is plagiarized, the review report is distributed for evidentiary purposes to other individuals involved in the review process, that is, in such cases, to second and third examiners/reviewers and to the examination board. The handling of attempts at academic dishonesty is governed by the examination regulations of the degree programmes at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (see module catalog: https://web1.hszg.de/modulkatalog/).

The personal data required for the operation/use of the plagiarism checking platform (e-mail addresses and account settings of the examiners/reviewers) and personal data associated with the plagiarism checking of texts (text content of submitted text documents) are passed on exclusively to the plagiarism checking platform of PlagAware UG, Brumersweg 35/1, 89233 Neu-Ulm, Germany.

Personal data will not be transferred to third countries or to an international organization.

The data saved for the search run is deleted completely after 24 hours. The test reports are removed from the plagiarism testing platform immediately after evaluation by the examiner/expert and stored internally in the secure area for the duration of the proof/objection periods.

As a person affected by the processing of your personal data, you have the following rights if the legal requirements are met:

• You have the right to information about the processing of your personal data(Art. 15 GDPR).
• You have the right to rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning you (Art.16 GDPR)
• You have the right to erasure of your personal data (Art.17 GDPR).
• You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data (Art.18 GDPR)
• You have the right to data portability of your personal data (Art.20 GDPR)
• You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data at any time (Art.21 GDPR)
• You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Saxon Data Protection Officer
  (for contact details, see https://www.saechsdsb.de/n-kontakt).

According to Art. 13 (2) lit. e GDPR, the provision of personal data is not required by law.

In the processing activity "Plagiarism check with PlagAware", no automated decision-making or profiling is carried out in accordance with Art. 22 GDPR. The decision as to whether the text declared for conformity(s) is plagiarized is made by the examiner/reviewer.