Based on a preliminary inquiry, a university saw that Master of Arts A was guilty of a violation of the responsible conduct of research in their thesis in the field of pedagogy. However, the deed was not regarded as particularly serious (see TENK Annual report 2018, section 3.2. Verified RCR Violations at Research Organisations, statement 5).
Based on a new RCR notification the university then initiated a second preliminary inquiry that found A to be guilty of misleadingly presenting another person’s results and conclusions as their own. The university found A guilty of both disregard for the responsible conduct of research and misconduct by plagiarism.
Private citizen B was dissatisfied with the university not initiating an investigation proper although the preliminary inquiry had raised questions about more extensive misconduct. In addition, a plagiarism checker could not be used in the preliminary inquiry, because A had not given permission to digitize their thesis.
TENK stated that the RCR guidelines have been compiled to ensure the quality of scientific research. When the issue is with a thesis and the preliminary inquiry has already verified the RCR violation, the investigation proper should only be initiated because the alleged person requests it or because of an otherwise justified reason. Plagiarism can also be verified without a plagiarism checker.