As a student you must be conscientious about clearly accounting for the material used in the texts that are submitted for examination.

To use another person’s expressions or ideas without stating the source is plagiarism. To translate and/or change some words in someone else’s text and present it as your own is also a form of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is considered cheating and if discovered in an exam or paper, the exam or paper will be failed immediately and disciplinary measures may be taken.

Any student who is caught cheating or disrupting academic activities may be suspended from lectures and exams for a period of up to six months. The Vice Chancellor or the Disciplinary Council decide whether the student is to be subject to any disciplinary measures.

Note! Field reports that are seen to be very similar between students also constitutes cheating/copying and is not permitted. Ensure that your consider this when studying together.

You can find more information about regulations, guidelines and your rights and responsibilities as a student

Disciplinary matters and expulsion

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Regulations for written seated examination

In academic work, it is necessary to cite sources. If someone else’s text, whether published or not, is used without proper citation, it is an act of plagiarism. This violation of academic integrity has serious consequences. Suspected plagiarism will be reported to the university’s disciplinary committee, which may lead to the suspension of the student.

It is the student’s responsibility to learn to cite sources properly. However, information and support are available from the course instructor, study advisor and director of studies as well as from Student Services.

The following advice and recommendations may be helpful in the prevention of plagiarism.

• Plagiarism refers to theft of the work of ot hers. Thus it includes not only ideas, words and sentence structures but also methods, figures, tables, data, drawings, photos, computer programs and the like. It is important to remember to cite all sources.
• In addition to proper citation, quotation marks are necessary if the exact formulation of words is used from a source. Exact quotations are not common in scientific texts and, if used, are kept short. Direct translation from another language is still a direct quotation and requires quotation marks, proper citation of the original and citation of the translator. Translation plagiarism of this kind must be avoided.
• Instead of using direct quotation, students can reformulate the main ideas from another writer’s work in their own words if an accurate interpretation of the original is given along with proper citation. If several sentences from the original are summarized and paraphrased at the same time, the task becomes easier. An effective method for condens ing the text and reformulating the ideas begins with building an entirely different sentence structure and in addition avoids repetition of the original’s non-technical words.
• Careless or misleading citation also constitutes plagiarism. For example, an in-text citation is properly included and the reference is given in the bibliography but information from the same source occurs elsewhere in the paragraph without citation. This is plagiarism.
• Another form of misrepresentation of sources involves a student’s own work. If a student’s text has been used to satisfy the requirements of one course, it should not be recycled in another course. The course leader should be consulted about any concerns or questions.
• As experience and knowledge increases, writing and paraphrasing skills will improve. In addition, the work will contain more of the student’s own ideas, explanations, evaluations and criticisms.

Example of plagiarism and correctly reformulated text:

Original text from Overduin et al. (2015): Penetrat ion of sulfate, serving as electron acceptor for anaerobic organic matter and methane oxidation, creates a capacity of the overlying unfrozen sediment column to oxidize released methane. Therefore, it is unlikely that thawing submarine permafrost is a subs tantial methane source for the overlying water column.

Plagiarized text (proper citation but failed paraphrase, nearly the same sentence structure, several repeated words and phrases): Penetrating sulfate, as electron acceptor for anaerobic organic matter and methane oxidation, creates the possibility for the overlying unfrozen sediment column to oxidize released methane; it is therefore not likely that thawing submarine permafrost supplies substantial methane to the overlying water column (Overduin et al. 2015).

Correctly reformulated text (proper citation, correct summarizing and paraphrase): Overduin et al. (2015) conclude that methane released by subsea permafrost thaw is anaerobically oxidized with sulfate as electron acceptor, likely resulting in negl igible supply of methane to the water column.

Reference
Overduin, P.P., Liebner, S., Knoblauch, C., Günther , F., Wetterich, S., Schirrmeister, L., Hubberten, H.-W., and M.N. Grigoriev (2015), Methane oxidation following submarine permafrost degradation: Measurements from a central Laptov Sea shelf borehole, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci. 120 , 965–978.

This text was written by Hildred Crill for the department's study handbook.

A short guide for use of generative AI in studies at the Department of geological sciences

Based on A short guide for use of generative AI in studies at the Department of physical geography 

Practical tools based on artificial intelligence are in rapid development. The kind of AI tools which generate an output based on your input (in the form of a so-called “prompt”) are collectively referred to as “generative AI”. These tools can be very useful in studies and research as they provide an opportunity to improve the quality of your work, but they may also lure you into cheating.

At all departments in the Faculty of science and mathematics at Stockholm university, there is a policy for students’ use of generative AI, explaining what kind of use is accepted and under what conditions. To summarise it very briefly, we permit the use of generative AI as a support tool but not for creation. This means that you are not allowed to submit AI-generated output presented as if it is your own work. Presenting a text, image, or other content produced by a generative AI tool as your own is considered plagiarism; it can be compared to stealing/copying someone else’s work or hiring a ghost writer.

The use of generative AI as a supportive tool in your studies, however, is encouraged: generative AI can help you brainstorm, plan your work, get feedback on writing style, write code, etc. In this short guide, there are some examples of proper use of generative AI in your studies, permitted under the policy at the department. You are briefly introduced to prompting and “prompt engineering”, and then provided some (hopefully) useful prompts to try out for yourself. This guide is limited to use of text-based generative AI (often called “chatbots”).

As generative AI is developing rapidly, it’s important to stay aware of recent developments in the tools you are using. Also remember that generative AI must be used in an ethically sound manner. You must to be aware of the limitations of the tools you are using, including possible biases in their training data.

Note! On each individual course, the teacher may decide what type of AI use is accepted or not. Make sure to always be aware what is permitted for each course task!

A brief introduction to prompting and prompt engineering

To use a chatbot, image creator, or other type of generative AI, you provide the tool with a prompt as input. This prompt is a piece of text that the statistical model behind the tool will interpret in order to respond with what it determines to be a statistically suitable output. Its important to realise that the model does not really “understand” the prompt or its own response; it is all computations based on a vast (but finite) set of training data for the model.

The prompt can be a question, such as “What is earth science?”; this prompt will lead to a statistically likely answer to the question. The prompt can also be an order, such as “Describe earth science.”; this prompt will likely lead to a similar response as the question example. To use generative AI in more advanced ways than simply looking for answers to questions (which you could as well use a simple web search for), you need to do some prompt engineering.

Prompt engineering, simply put, means adjusting your prompt with more details to get a more useful response for your specific purposes. A simple example would be “Describe geology in relation to the wider subject of earth science.”; this instructional prompt would likely lead to a response with a somewhat different focus of the contents compared to the examples in the paragraph above. Another example would be “Describe earth science as if explaining it to a child”; this audience prompt would likely lead to a similar response as the examples in the paragraph above in terms of content, but the language could be expected to be significantly simplified and less terminology- heavy. Yet another example would be “Describe earth science as if you are a journalist.”; this role prompt would likely lead to a response with another type of writing style.

Prompt engineering can be used to enable very specific uses of a chatbot. This is where things get interesting for the purpose of using chatbots to support studies. For example, you could instruct the chatbot to act as a personal tutor and give feedback on your writing, or to help you plan the workflow of a study, or to identify errors in your coding. This requires more detailed and often contextual prompts, where instead of just writing a question or direct order, you must include some context and/or more specific instructions. The rest of this guide provides some example prompts for you to use in your studies.

Note! When using generative AI tools, be aware that the companies offering these services may be collecting information from your use of them. You are therefore advised not to include copyrighted, personal or other sensitive information in your prompts.

Useful prompts for studies

The prompts provided here are a limited number of examples of how you can use generative AI to support your studies. They can be used, combined, and reimagined as you see fit, and should act as inspiration for your own prompts. Remember that you can get more relevant responses by adding more details to your prompts, such as contextual information (for example about the course you’re taking, the study task you have, or what your current progress is in the course or specific task) or words that act as modifiers (for example, instead of prompting “Summarise […]”, you could prompt “Summarise concisely […]“).

Note! If you use generative AI tools for a specific course task, the Faculty AI policy states that you must disclose this use properly, i.e. explain what tool you used, how and for what purpose.

Brainstorming

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I have a study task that is to [briefly describe study task]. Summarise the current state of scientific research that may be relevant for this task in this subject.

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. Provide three different examples of research questions relevant to this topic.

I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. My research question is “[insert research question]”. Provide a list of ten relevant keywords for my literature search on this topic.

I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. My research question is “[insert research question]”. Provide three alternative phrasings of this research question and give some examples of relevant themes to explore in my writing.

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. I argue that [describe argument]. Provide a counterargument with some evidence to support it.

Note! The output of a generative AI tool is only a statistically likely response to the prompt. Never trust the response blindly; always fact-check any information provided by an AI tool. Some tools do not have the capability to search the web or provide sources. Some may “hallucinate” fake references when asked for them, if the tool does not have the capability to search the web.

Planning

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I have a study task that is to [briefly describe study task]. Provide a suggestion for how to approach this task and what to do first.

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I have a study task that is to [briefly describe study task]. I have [specify timeframe] to complete this task. Provide a workflow to complete this task on time.

I have to read [specify number of pages/chapters/articles] for my course studies. Provide an encouraging plan to get this reading done in [specify timeframe].

Writing

I am taking a course in [insert course subject]. I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. Suggest relevant headings for this topic, with a logical structure from one theme to the next.

I am writing about [briefly describe writing topic]. Check if the following text is clear and logically structured. Respond with suggestions for improved writing without any specific examples for edits. [insert text to check]

Note! The following prompts work when using a chatbot which can analyse the contents of a document, if you open the document in, or upload it to, the service. Remember that you are advised not to do this with any work that is copyrighted or includes personal or other sensitive information. You could rewrite the prompts to work with a copied text instead, but some chatbots have a word limit that might not allow for the work to be entered all at once.

Does the work in this document adhere to “the seven C’s of academic writing”: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous? Respond with suggestions for improved writing but without any specific examples for edits.

Does the work in this document clearly state and answer a research question? Respond with suggestions for improved writing but without any specific examples for edits.

Does the work in this document have a logical structure and comprehensible text? Respond with suggestions for improved writing but without any specific examples for edits.

Coding

Generative AI (e.g. Chat GPT) is a very useful tool for coding in many programming languages. Note that the same rules regarding academic misconduct/plagiarism apply for code as any for other material.

It is important to carefully read and evaluate code results from AI, to make sure that it performs what it should and that you understand everything it does. All code handed in by students (in exercises, assignments, examinations, or theses) should be thoroughly supplied with written comments so that it is clear that the student understands the function of every part of the program.

Some additional tips and tricks

Most chatbots have the ability to keep track of previous prompts and responses within a chat. If using such a service, you only need to provide the context for what course you are taking, what your task is, or what you’re writing about, in the first prompt of the chat.

Some chatbots have adjustable settings that will affect the kind of responses you get. If there is an option for this, it could be useful to set it to a more “creative” mode when brainstorming and to a more “precise” mode when reviewing your writing.

If you’re getting responses that are too long, add something like “Respond with no more than 100 words.” at the end of the prompt. This forces the chatbot to be more concise.

If you’re getting responses that are too technical, try adding “Respond in simple language.” at the end of the prompt. This will likely make the response easier to digest.

If you’re getting responses that aren’t quite what you expected or seem to have missed your point, use a follow-up prompt to specify this. You can describe this in a natural language, as if having a conversation, and the chatbot will then very likely “understand” what you mean and adjust the response.

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Our mission is to ensure that students with diverse backgrounds and circumstances are able to complete their studies and achieve good results.

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Certificates can be created for studies at Stockholm University, and as a national study certificate that includes studies at several Swedish universities.

 

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Here you can find information on some of the most important rights and responsibilities that you have as a student.

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Their important assignment is to guarantee that students are able to influence their education, but they also have a major role in the social aspects of university life: from parliamentary decisions to course planning, to housing and coffee prices.

Stockholm University has two student unions, one large and one departmental, alongside Faculty Clubs and Student Union Clubs.

More information about student unions, faculty clubs and student union associations on Stockholm University's website
 

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Universities should offer all students a creative study and research environment and employees good working conditions.

Regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, religion or other belief, sexual orientation or age, employees, students and applicants are processed and treated with respect and dignity. The University does not accept discrimination or harassment associated with any of the above categories or sexual harassment.

An equal and equitable educational and working environment for students and employees is also a prerequisite for everyone to perform their best.

The Department should prevent harassment associated with any of the grounds of discrimination, sexual harassment and have clear guidelines on how to act if harassment or sexual harassment present.

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