D5Investigating a breach of regulations
The following circumstances are those that most commonly give rise to an investigation.
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A coordinator informs IB Cardiff that malpractice may have taken place during an examination.
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An examiner suspects plagiarism or collusion and provides evidence to justify his or her suspicion.
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A random check of examination material at IB Cardiff using a web-based plagiarism detection service reveals that the work of a candidate may not be entirely authentic.
The IB will investigate a case of suspected malpractice only when there is clear evidence to justify an allegation of malpractice. In the case of plagiarism the evidence must be in the form of a source that appears to have been copied by a candidate. In cases of collusion an investigation will only be pursued only if the other candidate’s work is available and shows clear similarities.
If the IB initiates an investigation into malpractice, it will do so soon after the evidence of malpractice is brought to the attention of the coordinator help desk at IB Cardiff. The head of examinations administration will inform the coordinator, normally by email, that a candidate (or candidates) is being investigated for possible malpractice. It is a requirement of the IB that the coordinator will immediately inform the head of school that a candidate (or candidates) is suspected of malpractice.
For all cases of malpractice by a candidate the coordinator will be asked to provide IB Cardiff with a report after he or she has conducted an investigation. In the case of suspected plagiarism the coordinator’s report, which must be prepared and handled in a manner that respects the need for confidentiality (such as referring to a candidate’s session number rather than his or her name), will normally include:
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a statement from the candidate’s teacher for the subject concerned (or supervisor in the case of an extended essay)
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the coordinator’s own statement
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a statement from the candidate that directly addresses the allegation that his or her work is not entirely authentic
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a summary of an interview with the candidate about the allegation of plagiarism, if an interview is conducted.
The statement from the candidate’s teacher (or supervisor) must include information on:
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the guidance given to all candidates on issues such as how to acknowledge sources and avoid collusion (as appropriate to the nature of the case) in the subject and component concerned
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the nature and extent of supervision given to the candidate (or candidates) on the work under investigation
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the procedure followed for verifying that, to the best of his or her knowledge, a candidate’s work submitted for assessment in the subject and component concerned is authentic.
The statement from the coordinator must include information on:
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the guidance given to all Diploma Programme candidates on issues such as how to acknowledge sources and avoid collusion
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the circumstances of the case, including details of any mitigating circumstances
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an opinion on the allegation of malpractice against the candidate (or candidates).
If the coordinator brings a case of possible malpractice to the attention of the coordinator help desk, it is expected that the above statements will accompany the email or letter sent to the coordinator help desk.