Guidelines for academic papers

When submitting a home assignment, seminar work or a bachelor, diplom or master thesis (or a comparable paper), you have to provide a written assurance that you completed the work independently and that you have used nothing other than the sources and aids referenced and that the work has not been submitted in any other testing procedure. The declaration has to be attached to the work.

1. Incorporate declaration

The declaration has to be incorporated into the paper/thesis, ideally at the start or the end. 

2. Specification for digital media

If you have to submit an electronic storage device (e.g. USB-Stick, CD) in addition to your work, you have to provide a written assurance that the submitted written work corresponds to the electronic version. For your thesis, you won’t have to submit a storage device as you submit the thesis digitally via StudIP. 

3. Wording the declaration

You can orientate your wording on this example:

Declaration of Independent Work

I hereby declare that I completed this work independently and that I have used no aids other than those referenced.
The parts of the work, which include phrases or points taken from other sources, are clearly marked with the origin of the information. This also applies to diagrams, sketches, visual representations as well as for sources from the Internet.

If generative AI tools were used as aids in the creation of this work, I have provided at least the model and version, date and intended use of each AI tool used, as well as the relevant text passages and/or files, in a comprehensible and verifiable manner in the appendix “AI Directory”.

I also declare that I have not submitted this work in any other testing procedure as an examination paper, nor will I in the future.

The submitted written work corresponds to the electronic version. I agree that an electronic copy may be made and stored to enable software-based verification (e.g., using anti-plagiarism software).

Wismar, xx.xx.xxxx                      Example
Place, date                              Signature

The essence of academic work is to advance the knowledge of the expert community, i.e. to make findings obtained accessible to the interested public. As such, a non-disclosure note should only be applied for in justifiable exceptional cases, for example if sensitive data relating to a firm or company have been used that are not be made public.

Requirements and process:

1. Provide proof of the sensitive data used

If your thesis contains sensitive data relating to a firm or company, you need a written confirmation of this from said firm or company. This proof of sensitive data must be have the seal and signature of said firm or company to verify. 

2. Apply for the non-disclosure note

You apply for it at the Servicepoint. Your application must be written and contain specific details about what sensitive data is related to the firm/company. You apply either after finishing your thesis or in exceptional cases before starting to work on your thesis. 

3. Approval by the examination committee

The non-disclosure not can only be added to the thesis, once the examination committee has checked your application and gave their approval. 

Note: Processing the request for a blocking note usually takes up to 2 weeks during the lecture period. During the lecture-free period, processing may take longer.