Turnitin
Overview
How It Works - Animation
See It In Action - Video
Overview
Although technology has made it easier for students to cheat, it has also made it easier to catch the cheaters. UOIT has purchased a license for the plagiarism detection service, Turnitin.com, which enables a professor to check written work for plagiarism. Using this service, the professor can upload one single sentence or the work from an entire class to check for plagiarism.According to Turnitin.com, it has a database of over 40 million student papers, more than 12 billion Web pages, and 10,000 newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Within minutes, it compares the student's paper against all these resources and sends a report back to the instructor on the integrity of the paper.
You should note that once your instructor submits your paper into the Turnitin.com database, it will reside in the Turnitin.com database for up to five years.
You do have an option of not having your papers submitted to the Turnitin.com database. You must inform your professor that you are not giving your permission to have your work submitted to Turnitin.com AND sign the Turnitin.com Assignment Cover Sheet (link opens in new window). You then must consult with your faculty member on what requirements must be met to ensure your work contains only your original work. This may include all copies of any documents you may have referred to, all books, any notes, drafts and other development writing of your paper. The requirements must be determined with the professor at the time the work is assigned, NOT on the due date.
For review, the steps are:
- When work is assigned, you inform the professor you will not give your permission to have the paper submitted to Turnitin.com
- You discuss with your professor how you will prove the originality of your work
- You keep copies of all documents, articles, notes and drafts used in the development of your paper
- When you hand in the paper, you attach the Turnitin.com Assignment Cover Sheet
- Your paper is accompanied with the required documents
The best way to avoid any plagiarism problems is to learn how to write scholarly papers using proper research, writing, and referencing techniques. Check with your professor about which citation methods are required for your course.
How Turnitin Works - Animation