Turnitin Similarity in Canvas

Turnitin is a web-based service available in Canvas that indicates the originality of student work. The Turnitin Similarity Report compares papers submitted by students with over 150 million previously submitted papers, 14 billion pages of web content, and more than 90,000 subscription-based journals and periodicals. Turnitin generates similarity reports that indicate textual similarities between student papers and content in its database. Turnitin does not determine if a student committed plagiarism. It is up to the instructor to review the report, the student paper, and other student writing artifacts and decide on their own if plagiarism has occurred.

Turnitin is simply a tool to aid instructors in detecting plagiarism. Even materials that have been cited properly will appear as a textual match in the originality reports (unless you exclude them from the reports). Therefore, careful analysis of the similarity reports and student papers is necessary before approaching a student about possible plagiarism.

Turnitin can be used for more than just identifying cases of plagiarism. It can also be used as a teaching tool. Instructors have the option of allowing students to see their similarity reports. These reports can be used to teach students how to paraphrase and cite sources. There are limitations to Turnitin. Although it can search billions of digital sources, Turnitin does not have access to printed materials available in libraries.

Syllabus Statement (IMPORTANT)

(adapted for Turnitin with permission from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Library)
If you plan to use the Turnitin tool for assignments in your course, you will need to add one of the following statements to your syllabus.

If you plan to use the plagiarism detection services for all assignments in your course, include this paragraph in your syllabus and review it during the first class meeting:
As a condition of continued enrollment in this course, you agree to submit all assignments to Turnitin Similarity for textual comparison or originality review for the detection of possible plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included in the Turnitin database of digital assignments. These databases of assignments will be used solely to detect possible plagiarism during the grading process during this term and in the future. Students who do not submit their papers electronically to the selected service will be required to submit copies of the cover page and first cited page of each source listed in the bibliography with the final paper to receive a grade on the assignment.

If you plan to use the plagiarism detection services for selected suspect assignments, include this paragraph in your syllabus and review it during the first class meeting:
Students should be aware that suspect assignments (e.g., those without drafts, without works cited pages, or with large departures in style) will be submitted to Turnitin by the instructor to detect possible plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included in the Turnitin database of digital assignments. These databases of assignments will be used solely to detect possible plagiarism during the grading process during this term and in the future. Students must provide an electronic copy of their assignment to the instructor for submission to the service when plagiarism is suspected, to receive a grade on the assignment, and to avoid possible sanctions.

Turnitin Help for Instructors in Canvas:

Turnitin Help for Students in Canvas

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