Jia Pingwa (left) and Jia Qianqian Photo: Sina Weibo

Northwest University in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province announced on Wednesday that it has confirmed plagiarism allegations in academic papers by Jia Qianqian, daughter of renowned Chinese writer Jia Pingwa, and substantiated the allegations of academic misconduct. The university revoked Jia Qianqian's master's degree and teaching qualification, according to the university's statement. 

The allegations emerged following a blogger posting in early April that Jia Qianqian's 2014 paper shared similarities with works by four other authors without proper citations.

In response to online reports concerning allegations that Jia Qianqian, the faculty member at Northwestern University, was involved in issues including academic paper plagiarism, the university attached great importance to the matter. It formed a special task force and established an investigation team, working with relevant departments to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth investigation, according to the statement on Wednesday. 

The investigation found that Jia Qianqian had published 16 academic papers as the first author. Among them, nine papers contained multiple instances of repeated paragraphs and sentences from previously published works by others without proper attribution, with one of the nine also involving duplicate publication. 

Six papers contained individual instances of textual overlap and irregular citation practices, while no issues involving improper citation were identified in one paper. After review by the academic committee, Jia Qianqian was found to have committed plagiarism, and the allegations of academic misconduct were substantiated.

The main viewpoints, arguments, and conclusions of Jia Qianqian's master's thesis were found to overlap with works and papers previously published by others. In accordance with laws and regulations governing degree management, the university revoked her master's degree, according to the statement.

The university also revoked Jia Qianqian's associate professor title and qualification for her teaching position. The university also approved her resignation application, terminated her employment relationship, and completed procedures to revoke her teaching qualification. Relevant authorities have handled those responsible in accordance with applicable regulations and disciplinary procedures.

The university said in the statement that it attaches great importance to research integrity and will treat this case as a lesson to further strengthen research integrity education and faculty management, while safeguarding a sound academic environment and an environment conducive to talent cultivation.

Global Times