[Edited and adapted from Turnitin.com's FAQs]
Q: What is plagiarism?
A: Plagiarism is the improper use, or failure to attribute,
another person's writing or ideas. It can be as subtle as the inadvertent
neglect to include quotes or references when citing another source or as blatant
as knowingly copying an entire paper verbatim and claiming it as your own
work. (For more info, visit the Turnitin companion site Research
Resources)
Q: Is plagiarism really that big a problem?
A: Yes! According to a 1998 survey by Who's Who Among American
High School Students, four out of five college-bound high school students
admit to cheating on schoolwork, and a recent Center for Academic Integrity
study reports that 80 percent of college students admit to cheating at least
once. Additionally, the latest polls from the Gallup organization indicate
respondents consider a crisis in education and a decline in ethics to be the
top two problems facing America today. Click here
for more info.
Q: What are the consequences of plagiarism for students?
A: The consequences can be severe. Since students must abide
by formal rules of conduct, such as the UF
Code of Student Conduct, committing plagiarism constitutes breaking one
of academia’s most fundamental rules. Consequences of plagiarism in
higher education may include: a failing grade on a paper, a failing grade
in a class, a formal university hearing, a mark on your transcript, probationary
status, or even expulsion from the university. (Visit Research
Resources for more information on the consequences of plagiarism.)
Q: I am a faculty member. What should I do if I believe
a student is guilty of plagiarism?
A: First and foremost, you must remember that students have
rights and are entitled to due process. Faculty must familiarize themselves
with those student rights and with UF's judicial processes. General information
can be found at the Dean
of Students Office website, in the section on Judicial
Affairs. Specific information and procedures are outlined in the Academic
Honesty Faculty Guide.
Q: I am a student. What can I do if I am accused of
plagiarism?
A: To a great extent, the answer is different if you are
guilty or innocent. In either case, you should be familiar with your rights
as a student and with UF's judicial process and the adjudication procedures
in particular. General information can be found at the Dean
of Students Office website, in the section on Judicial
Affairs. Specific information and procedures are outlined in the Academic
Honesty Student Guide.
Q: If I submit a paper for one class and then submit
the same paper again for another class, can I correctly be accused of plagiarism?
A: Not plagiarism, but certainly a lower academic standard.
If you do not properly reference yourself and the content extracted from your
previous paper, then you are recycling work. (Please see Research
Resources for more info.). Also, you may be in violation of the standards
set by a college, department, or professor. So when you wish to recycle work,
you should clear it first with the instructor.
Q: How does Turnitin work?
A: A technology developed by Turnitin.com, called document
source analysis, uses a set of powerful algorithms to make a digital "fingerprint"
of any text document and then compare it against millions of other sources
on the Internet. Turnitin has compiled a massive database of digital material
by continually cataloging and indexing online academic works with automated
web robots. Online paper mills are a major focus of the searches. A complement
to the Internet data-mining capabilities is our archiving function: papers
from participating courses and other academic web sites are also indexed and
stored in Turnitin's secure, in-house database.
Q: How long does a check take?
A: The actual analysis takes seconds. Instructors can choose
either "FastTrack" or "24-hour turnaround" for Originality
Report generation. With FastTrack, reports appear in the instructor’s
inbox within three to four hours. The 24-hour turnaround option allows students
to resubmit a paper as many times as they wish within a 24-hour window, giving
students the ability to correct any errors or omissions that they may have
made. Coming soon, FastTrack reports will be generated even faster -- normally
within minutes of an original submission.
Q: Does Turnitin check against newspaper articles and
books to ensure that students have not cut-and-pasted from them?
A: Yes. The majority of the world's newspapers and periodicals
DO reside on the Internet. Manuscripts are checked against these digital sources
along with the billions of pages on the Web. Unfortunately, not all literature
resides on the Internet. However, if a book was to be placed somewhere on
the Internet, we would be able to detect future instances of its use.
Q: How do you keep from having too many matches for
common papers -- for instance, ones dealing with frequently taught material
like Hamlet or To Kill a Mockingbird?
A: Document source analysis is carefully calibrated to eliminate
as many trivial matches as possible, while still identifying relevant matching
passages. This calibration makes use of extensive analysis of language patterns,
word frequencies, and other advanced techniques to minimize "noise"
without losing key information.
Q: How are papers uploaded?
A: The process is simple. Students or faculty log into their
Turnitin.com account(s), find the appropriate class(es), and then either:
a) "copy-and-paste" their paper into a text box and click "submit,"
or b) browse for a file (just like an email attachment) and submit it. Turnitin
accepts file uploads in a number of formats, including MS Word, plain text,
RTF, PDF and Postscript. If the paper does not already exist in digital format,
it can be scanned with OCR software and then uploaded by either of the two
above methods. To take a look at Turnitin tutorials and quickstarts, click
here.
Q: Are uploaded papers from individuals or from courses
confidential?
A: Yes. The paper will not be released without author or
instructor permission.
Q: Is a paper that receives a high similarity rating
necessarily plagiarized?
A: No. There are a number of perfectly legitimate reasons
for a paper receiving a high similarity rating. For example, a properly cited
paper with numerous references may show a high similarity. Likewise, a paper
previously submitted to Turnitin by the student for self-checking prior to
final submission (if an instructor allows that capability) will show a high
similarity. A high similarity rating simply indicates to an instructor that
this paper should be reviewed for possible plagiarism. The determination whether
or not a paper is plagiarized is still left of to the judgment of the instructor.
Q: Where can I get support?
A: Turnitin is a commercial service made available to the
UF community by the Office of academic Technology. Because it is a commercial
service, most support will need to come from Turnitin.com. However, Learning
Support Systems can provide some assistance: creating
Turnitin accounts for faculty; training
for how to use Turnitin; and , if necessary, referal directions to Student
Judiial affiairs.