Research training and skills

Plagiarism by any students is a serious offence: it can lead to your deregistration from the University. The University has issued the following guidelines relating to plagiarism. 

Plagiarism is defined as the act of representing another's work or ideas as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement or referencing. There are three main types of plagiarism: 

• Direct copying of text from a book, article, fellow student's essay, handout, thesis, web page or other source without proper acknowledgement. 
• Claiming individual ideas derived from a book, article etc. as one's own, and incorporating them into one's work without acknowledging the source of these ideas. 
• Overly depending on the work of one or more others without proper acknowledgement of the source, by constructing an essay, project etc. by extracting large sections of text from another source, and merely linking these together with a few of one's own sentences. 

Please click on the link for the full details of the University's policies and procedures on plagiarism.

The use of AI in Postgraduate Research

Statement fromthe Dean of Postgraduate Research and the Doctoral College

The Doctoral College recognizes that the use of generative AI tools by our PGRs is a sensitive area that is raising questions from students and supervisors alike. Late in the last academic year we reviewed the position adopted at Exeter for taught students. This recognizes that AI tools have potential benefits for students, but formulates a principle that any use of it must always be acknowledged by students. Since the Russell Group recently reached a similar position, it is likely that this will become standard across the sector. 

Please note that the definition of plagiarism, in the TQA manual section on research misconduct, has been revised to acknowledge the benefits and risks of AI. It now encompasses: 'Direct copying of text or illustrations from a webpage, book, article, thesis, handout, fellow student's work, web-page, AI-generated content or other source without proper acknowledgement' (Ch. 13 2.3.3).

We appreciate that this is a rapidly changing field, and that students will welcome further guidance. Training materials are presently in development, for launch in the new year. Please note also that the University Library has published referencing guidance for the use of generative AI tools.

If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it please talk to your supervisors or Pastoral Tutor. 

There are a number of benefits to making your research and thesis available via Open Access: 

• Increases citations and the visibility of your research 
• Helps to build your research career 
• Increases chances of further funding opportunities and collaborations 
• Meets the transparency/openness agenda 

The key points of the University’s Open Access Research and Research Data Management Policy for PGR Students are as follows: 

E-Theses 

A copy of your final thesis/dissertation will need to be submitted to the institutional repository, ﷟ Open Research Exeter (ORE), via Symplectic prior to the award of your degree.  via Symplectic prior to the award of your degree. 

Research Papers 

Students should comply with funder and Open Access Research and Research Data Management Policy requirements. All PGR students should ensure that research papers published whilst affiliated with the University are made available in ORE, as open access, as soon as possible. Current PGRs are encouraged to make use of publisher Transformative Agreements to publish open access without publishing fees and can apply for funding to publish in fully open access journals.. Advice and support are available from the Open Research Team. 

Research Data 

Students should comply with funder and Open Access Research and Research Data Management Policy requirements.

Responsibility for the ongoing, day-to-day management of their research data lies with PGR students. Where the PGR is part of a project, data management policy will be set and monitored by the Principal Investigator (PI) and the PGR will be expected to comply with project guidelines.  

The lead PGR Supervisor is responsible for advising the PGR student on good practices in research data management.  

PGR students and their supervisors should discuss and review research data management issues annually, addressing issues of the capture, management, integrity, confidentiality, security, selection, preservation and disposal, commercialisation, costs, sharing and publication of research data and the production of descriptive metadata to aid discovery and re-use when relevant.  

A checklist to support PGRs and their supervisors in the annual research data review is available.  

At the end of the degree, PGR students should register selected research data in Open Research Exeter (ORE). Information about the data should be included as a statement in the thesis record using the Description field. When legally, commercially and ethically appropriate, this selected research data should also be made available on Open Access in an appropriate repository.  

PGR students will be able to embargo their research data in order to have a period of privileged use of the data that they have created or collected for a standard period of up to 18 months initially.  

Research Data Management Guidance 

In order to save time and effort later on in your degree, before you start collecting or creating research data or materials research students should consider the following: 

Managing references 

Using a reference manager such as EndNote or Mendeley helps with the organisation and citation of journal articles and the notes you make about them. 

Data storage 

Where will you store your research data/materials? The University provides all researchers with access to a range of secure data storage options, including 5TB of online storage via OneDrive for Business 

If your data are confidential and/or sensitive don't use external cloud storage such as Dropbox and do not share it using email. Confidential and/or sensitive data should be encrypted and stored according to ethical approval. 

Data back-up 

Make sure you make regular back-ups of your files to avoid data loss, especially if you store your data on a memory stick or portable hard drive. 

Organising your files and folders 

Create a logical file storage system to find files easily, for example, with separate folders for reports, presentations, projects etc., and sub-folders separating raw data, tools, and analysed data. You should also develop a naming system for your files so that you know which version has included revisions or use a document control table on the front page. 

Document your data creation/collection 

It is easier to document data when you start creating or collecting your research materials rather than retrospectively. Think about what information you need about the data/materials so that you or somebody else can reuse and understand the data in the long-term. Information could include how data were created or digitised, what hardware/software was used, how the data was analysed, what their content and structure are and any manipulations that may have taken place. 

Know your funder's policy on Open Access to research data and research publications 

The University and your funder normally expect you to put your research data and publications on Open Access when appropriate.  There are exceptions for commercial, confidential and copyright reasons. See the Digital Curation Centre's page for an overview of funders' policies and the University of Exeter PGR policy. 

Further Information 

The following links provide further help and guidance on Open Access and research data management: 

• Research Management Data Survival Guide for New PhD Students 
• E-theses (PGR web pages) 
• Research data management (Library web pages) 
• Further help and advice is available via openaccess@exeter.ac.uk or rdm@exeter.ac.uk. 

There are also training sessions on Open Access and Research Data Management as part of the Researcher Development.

At the University of Exeter we encourage all academics and research students to create an ORCiD ID in order to be part of the growing research family around the world. ORCiD provides a personal digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and supports automated links between you and your professional activities, ensuring that your work is recognised.  

There is a simple registration process that can be found on the website to get an ORCiD ID, and it is important that you record your personal identifier with the University through MyPGR. Please refer to the section Personal Development Plan (PDP).  

You can find more information on ORCiD and its importance on our Research Services pages, and also at the ORCiD website.