The ethical acceptability and reliability of scientific research require that the research is conducted in accordance with good scientific practice. Good scientific practice includes, among other things, the appropriate use of sources in academic writing in a way that respects the rights of the original authors. For example, support the claims made in your thesis with your own analysis and previously published research, to which you refer properly.
The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) promotes good scientific practice and works to prevent research misconduct. TENK issues the guidelines The Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of Research Integrity in Finland.
The University of Oulu is committed to following the guidelines provided by TENK. More information:
According to the Copyright Act (unofficial translation), the copyright to a literary or artistic work belongs to the creator(s) of that work. A work may be, for example, a book, article, photograph, play, or thesis. The holder of the copyright has the right to make copies of the work and to make it available to the public.
A thesis is considered a literary or artistic work as defined in the Copyright Act, and the author holds the copyright to it. Publishing a thesis electronically does not affect the copyright — the copyright remains with the author.
Quotations from a published work are permitted in accordance with fair practice and to the extent required by the purpose. Source information must always be cited appropriately.
The permissible extent and use of quotations are determined case by case, depending on the type of work. For example, quoting an entire poem is not allowed, but you may quote a part of a poem if it is relevant to the context and the extent of the quote is appropriate. Photographs taken by others may not be used without permission.
Plagiarism, or unauthorized borrowing, means presenting content produced by someone else as your own without properly citing the original source. Plagiarism can involve, for example, another person’s text, research results, ideas, images, or other works.
Plagiarism includes both direct copying and paraphrased copying. If you summarize someone else's text in your own words, you must still cite the original source. If you use your own earlier work, you must also reference it to avoid self-plagiarism. Plagiarism is often unintentional. To avoid it, it is important to familiarize yourself thoroughly with proper citation practices.
On the use of quotations and images: