Teaching technology services/Mika Pulkkinen24.3.2017

Guiding scientific writing and similarity check withTurnitin

Content

1. IN GENERAL ................................................................................................................... 2

2. WHY USE TURNITIN? ..................................................................................................... 2

3. PRINCIPLES OF THE USE OF TURNITIN ............................................................................ 3

3.1 Scientific writing and using references ........................................................................ 3

3.2 Teaching scientific writing with Turnitin ...................................................................... 3

3.3 LUT ethical guidelines and plagiarism .......................................................................... 4

4. THE USE OF TURNITIN FOR TEACHERS/INSTRUCTORS .................................................... 4

4.1 Adding a Turnitin Assignment 2 in Moodle .................................................................. 4

4.1.1 Assignment settings .............................................................................................. 5

4.1.2 The Turnitin assignment........................................................................................ 8

4.1.3 Approved file types ............................................................................................. 10

4.2 Feedback Studio –report ........................................................................................... 10

4.3 Similarity report ........................................................................................................ 12

4.3.1 Filtering the report ......................................................................................... 13

4.3.2 Downloading the report and information of the submission........................... 15

4.4 Grading –commenting............................................................................................... 15

4.4.1 QuickMarks and text comments ..................................................................... 15

4.4.2 Feedback Summary ........................................................................................ 18

4.4.3 Grading rubric ................................................................................................ 18

4.4.4 Grading form .................................................................................................. 21

4.5 Turnitin for iPad ........................................................................................................ 23

5. INTERPRETING SIMILARITY .......................................................................................... 23

5.1 Plagiarism, its types and examples ............................................................................ 24

5.2 How to avoid plagiarism ............................................................................................ 25

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1. IN GENERAL

Turnitin is a web-based service for checking the originality of the students’ submitted papersand for guiding the scientific writing of the students. Turnitin can be accessed by adding theactivity Turnitin Assignment 2 in Moodle.

When a student submits a paper, Turnitin compares it against a vast database including scientificarticles, web pages, student works and so on, after which Turnitin creates a Similarity report.The report shows the similarities between the paper and the sources found in the database(similarity percentage and list of references). Submitted papers can also be saved in to theTurnitin database, with the student’s permission. Otherwise, the student’s permission in theuse of Turnitin is not needed, but they should be informed about it at the beginning of thecourse.

The teacher creates the Turnitin assignment, the student returns the paper, and the similarityreport will be visible to both of them. Another option is that the teacher returns the paper onthe student’s behalf, which will send an e-mail to the student.

When the student returns the paper in Turnitin for the first time, a personal student profile iscreated.

Since the beginning of 2016, Turnitin check has been obligatory in all thesis works.

2. WHY USE TURNITIN?

Teaching the practices of scientific writingo When the students begin their studies and start to write papers, such as seminar

works, the principles of academic writing are easy to teach by using the similarityreport (principles such as own text, using references etc.)

o The Feedback Studio enables the giving of diverse feedbackSaving time

o The teacher saves time, when going manually through references is no longerneeded.

Later on in the studies, also preventing plagiarismo For example in DI-thesis, where the sources are in Englisho Articles and texts related to doctoral thesis (either when a professor acts as an

instructor, or when the doctoral student wants to do a self-check)

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3. PRINCIPLES OF THE USE OF TURNITIN

The students must be informed, if the submission happens via TurnitinDo not save the students’ papers in the database without a permission (the paper canalso be checked without saving it)Let the student submit his/her own paperProvide the student with sufficient instructions for writingInterpret the similarity report, preferably together with the studentGive the student the possibility of fixing the paper and resubmitting it

3.1 Scientific writing and using references

Scientific writing is one of the most important skills for every university graduate. Learning theskill begins already in the first year in university, because it will be needed in writing the thesisas well as later on in the working life. By using Turnitin, the teacher can emphasize the correctway of writing own text and referring. Kielijelppi (2010) reckons that the writer has to blendthe information found in external sources with own thinking, and creating the text based onthese.

Writing scientific text often includes the following principles (Kielijelppi 2010):

The sources are marked so carefully that it is clear, which opinions are the writer’s ownand which text or information is based on a reference.The information must not be detached from the original source so that it changes themeaning.A direct citation, a quote, must be in its original form and marked with quotation marksand a reference.

3.2 Teaching scientific writing with Turnitin

Turnitin is a plagiarism detection service as a nature, but when used correctly, it will also guidethe student in correct scientific writing. The program itself does not tell, whether the text isplagiarism.

Principles of using Turnitin for teaching:

Tell the students about the use of Turnitin. It motivates to avoid copying.Give sufficient instructions, because students do not know scientific writing and correctreferring by themselves.Practice. First, create one Turnitin assignment for practicing how to write and refer. Gothrough the report together with the student, or show examples for a bigger group.Give more than one chance to submit and check the paper. Create one submission taskfor the first draft, another for checking and third for the final version. The students willbe able to monitor their own personal development, and in every stage, it is useful tointerpret the similarity report.

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Only a reasonable doubt of plagiarism and the student’s neglect of correcting it allowsfurther action.

3.3 LUT ethical guidelines and plagiarism

The students should familiarize themselves with the ethical guidelines in UNI-portal(https://uni.lut.fi/en/web/lut.fi-eng/ethical-guidelines).

It is also good to tell the student about the consequences of breaking the guidelines:

“Proven misconduct will lead to disciplinary measures, which may include a written reprimand,a caution and suspension for a fixed term. In the case of exchange and double degree students,the home university will always be informed.” (LUT 2014)

4. THE USE OF TURNITIN FOR TEACHERS/INSTRUCTORS

Turnitin-assignment can be used in submitting personal papers.

Seminar works and papers: you can save them in the database, if the same assignmentsare used year after year, so that the previous papers are always with in the comparison.Do not save papers from previous years, but start with the current course.Instructing a thesis: in general, the seminar courses on theses in Moodle include aTurnitin assignment, but if you have multiple thesis workers, you can ask for a personalMoodle platform from Opetushelp (Teaching Technology Services), and add thosestudents there. Opetushelp can add the Turnitin task 2 on the platform, or you can do itby yourself.

4.1 Adding Turnitin Assignment in Moodle

You can add a Turnitin assignment 2 for any course platform. Start with clicking Customize thispage. Click Add an activity or resource, choose Turnitin Assignment 2, and click Add (see thepicture below).

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4.1.1 Assignment settings

This opens a view, where you need to name the assignment and write a summary, for examplethe instructions. You need to adjust the following settings:

Submission type: either File upload, where the text file is as an attachment, or Textsubmission, where the student writes into a text box.Number of parts: You can define how many text files the student is able to submit. All ofthem will be checked in separate reports.Maximum file size: The preset 40 MB. The size of a PDF-file can be reduced for example bydeleting some pictures.Allow submission of any file type: you can comment any file type (for example a picture)even though the similarity cannot be viewed.Display originality report to students: preset Yes, so that the students are able to see thesimilarity report of their own work.

Submission type: Preset File upload

Number of parts: each creates aseparate report

Allow submission of any file type: (see4.2.)

Display Originality Reports toStudents: preset Yes, so that thestudents are able to see the similarityreport of their own work.

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Define the start date, due date and post dateo Start date tells, when the assignment openso Due date is automatically one week from the start date. If you like to let the student

fix the paper longer, the due date can be postponed. Different parts may havedifferent due dates. On the other hand, you can also add multiple Turnitinassignment 2 tools for different submissions.

o Post date affects the commenting of the report, which is enabled from the date set.The teacher’s feedback is not visible until this date.

Allow Submissions after the Due Date: defines, whether you approve the student’s firstsubmission even after the due dateReport Generation Speed: Here the first two options are applicable.

o Generate reports immediately, the first report is final - this option is valid forsubmissions that are made only once

o Generate reports immediately, resubmissions are allowed until due date – allowsmultiple submissions within the period. HOX: Resubmission has a 24-hour delay inthe creation of the report

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Store Student Papers: The default is No Repository. ONLY THE FINAL VERSION needs to bestored. If the students submit multiple versions that they will modify before the final version,those should never be stored. Thesis works submitted in LUTPub will automatically be copiedin Turnitin storage.

After this, remember to save the settings.

At this stage you can decide,whether to check or not againststudent papers (the whole text willnot be visible) as well asbibliography. The settings will belocked, when the first submission ismade.

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4.1.2 The Turnitin assignment

The assignment is shown now on the course page, and by clicking its name, the following viewopens (Submission inbox).

The teacher may also submit the work on the behalf of the student by clicking Submit papericon.

The teacher’s view

All stages of the task appear on different tabs

Post date tells, when the student will see the teacher’scomments.

You may edit the due date - the default is oneweek from the start date.

The submission (teacher or student)

HOX! If the teacher wants to view an own text –the student role has to be granted and the namewill appear on the list.

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When the assignment opens, the student’s view looks like this. This view shows the submissiondetails. The student is able to submit the assignment by clicking Submit paper -icon.

The teacher’s view when submitting on the behalf of the student

The student’s view

Give the submission a title

Drag and drop the filehere.

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The student will name the submission based on the teacher’s instructions, and then locates thefile from the computer, then drag and drop. Before the file can be submitted, the student needsto approve the terms of use.

When the student clicks Add submission, the student will get a profile in Turnitin and will receivea confirmation of the submission via e-mail.

4.1.3 Approved file typesTurnitin accepts the following file types in the similarity comparison: MS Word (doc, docx), MSExcel (xls, xlsx), html, Adobe Postscript (ps), text (txt), Rich Text Format (rtf), and PortableDocument Format (pdf). If the settings allow returning all file types, they can also be for examplepicture files, and you can comment them in the report (Grading functions).

The submitted file (such as a pdf) may not be secured with a password. If the pdf-file consistsonly of pictures including text, Turnitin will exclude them. The Pdf-file must follow the standard– if not, there might be issues considering the creation of the report (for example in the case ofa pdf produced by LaTeX).

4.2 Feedback Studio –report

Turnitin creates a Feedback Studio –report of the submitted assignment, which includes theSimilarity report and Grading.

You can reach the report in the submission inbox. The students will only see the similaritypercentage of their own works (when enabled in settings).

The student’s view when submitting

The student needs to confirm that thesubmission is his or her own work and thathe or she will carry the consequences ofbreaking the copyrights.

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The view shows the submitted assignments, time of submission and the similarity percentage.By clicking either the assignment title or the percentage, both the teacher and the student mayopen the report.

The work can be deleted by clicking the trash bin. If the work is stored in the archive, it will stillstay there unless you specifically contact Turnitin and ask for removal.

Submissions (all visible only in theteacher’s view, students see their own)

Refresh if the reportdoes not appear

You can also send a message tothose, who have not submitted

The report opens alsowhen clicking the name,without the services beingactive

Similarity percentage: open the report here

Download the original file

Delete

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4.3 Similarity report

This is an example of a Feedback Studio –report, and the similarity percentage is shown on theright upper corner.

The whole text is on the left and the match overview is on the right. The sources are numberedand the same number appears in the text. By clicking the number at the beginning of thehighlighted text, the original text appears. The original source is often also available. It is oftengood to filter things that automatically cause similarities, such as the list of references.

Match overview

The original source

The preview icon helpsnavigating in the report.

Close theside view

Percentage of one source:should not be very high

Similarity percentage of the whole work

CommentingSimilarity

Source:When clicking the markednumber, a part of the text opens

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4.3.1 Filtering the report

You can filter the report by clicking this icon.

You can approve the filtering by clicking the button Apply Changes.

In addition, the students can exclude references and the list of references when opening theirown reports.

If the source includes multiple subsources, you can see them in a separate listing when clickingthe arrow. If it is an internet source, it can be opened with a click.

You can exclude:

- Quotes (HOX: excludes alsothose that are referred tocorrectly.)- List of references,bibliography (always increasesthe percentage)- A certain amount orpercentage of words (for

Clicking the subsourceselects those specificsimilarities in the report

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Excluding one or multiple sources of the comparison can be done in the view with all sources byclicking the icon: The students are not able to perform this function.

Select All Sources list

And click Exclude Sources:

The list of matches opens and you can select a specific source(s) by ticking. Then click Excludeagain (see the picture below).

The excluded sources can be restored one by one or all at once when clicking Excluded sources.

Choose the sources youwish to restore

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4.3.2 Downloading the report and information of the submission

The Turnitin-report can be downloaded by clicking the icon

By clicking the info icon, you can observe the specific information of thesubmission, such as date and originality information

4.4 Grading –commenting

The teacher can comment on the submission in different ways on the Grading tab.

4.4.1 QuickMarks and text comments

There are already many QuickMarks, and you can add even more. You can add them into thetext in two ways:

QuickMark-tab (drag into the text)

You can download theview as a pdf-file. Youmay also download adigital receipt or theoriginally submitted file.

You can choosecomments in differentgrammar libraries, andyou can control theselibraries.

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Click / paint a specific part of the text QuickMarks will appear

Clicking the added comment opens the explanation for the comment:

The QuickMark is visible on the text and it opens with a click.

QuickMark

Deleting thecomment

You can specify withown comments

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If you want to write an own text comment at a specific part of the text, you can choose the“speaking bubble”. Klick or paint the text.

You can give also text comments in any part of the text.

Speaking bubble

Saving your owncomment as aQuickMark

Delete

Add text

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4.4.2 Feedback Summary

You can comment the whole work with text comment or a voice recording by clicking the icon,and the view will change to Feedback Summary.

4.4.3 Grading rubric

You can create an evaluating rubric to simplify the grading.

Start with clicking the settings

Click

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Open the menu in the left upper corner and choose Create a new rubric.

HOX! You are not able to modify a rubric attached to a submission. It must first be disabled.

Write the needed information:- Name- Scale and points- Criterion (and weighting)- Describing the crossing points

Save and

Attach tosubmission Add the scale

Add criterion

Enter name

Choose the way ofgrading

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When the rubric has been saved and attached to the assignment, it looks like this:

Finally, close the rubric.

In the report, when opening the Rubric tab, the view will look like this:

You can view the rubric in a separate window (click ”expand”)

Evaluate the work based on therubrik criterion and scales. Thereport will calculate the averageon the scale you have defined

Expand therubric to fullwindow

Finally, Apply tograde

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Once created, the rubric can be used in other Turnitin-assignments as well. Choose it in the listat rubric settings:

4.4.4 Grading form

You can create a grading form, where you define certain criterion and points with descriptions

You can also use a matrixcreated with Excel byuploading it. The criterionmay include max. 13 letters.

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It could be for example like this:

Save and Attach to the assignment.

In the report, you can also comment the criterion when giving out points:

Define the criterion –you can add multiple

You can describe it forthe evaluation, if youwant

Give feedbackaccording to eachcriteria and decide thepoints. In the end, clickApply to gradecalculates the grade

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4.5 Turnitin for iPad

You can create a code for the class in Moodle, if the students want to use the app Turnitin foriPad in order to reach the reports.

The app can be downloaded in AppStore. Additional information and instructions:http://guides.turnitin.com/01_Manuals_and_Guides/iPad_User_Guide

5. INTERPRETING SIMILARITY

Turnitin tells the percentage of similarity that can be found in the text, but does not in fact tell,whether it is plagiarism. It must be noted that plagiarism means that it has been done onpurpose and by ignoring in an extreme manner the practices of academic referring. The teacheror instructor must interpret the report and decide, on what basis the similarity is due toplagiarism, and give feedback to the student in order to fix the text. Therefore, checking thesimilarity in Turnitin, is a part of the instructing job of the teacher.

When the teacher/instructor notes too many similarities (such as whole sentences orparagraphs from the source) and/or lacking of references, the first step is to let the studentmake corrections. Therefore, checking the text already during the writing process is important.It can help to avoid problems in the final check, which can sometimes unfortunately delay thestudent’s graduation.

Interpreting plagiarism should become stricter on the course of study years. This means that abachelor student can be given more time or possibilities to correct the text, but at the stage ofdoctoral thesis, problems should no more appear. It is expected that the academic writing skillsand the knowledge of plagiarism should increase. At the beginning of studies, plagiarism can beexecuted merely by insufficient skills. The student should be provided with good instructions,the teacher should interpret the first report together and afterwards instruct more.

In the end, the student is responsible for following the good practices of academic writing.

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5.1 Plagiarism, its types and examples

According to Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta – Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity(http://www.tenk.fi/en), plagiarism is referring without permission, or presenting the text asyour own. Plagiarism is for example writing a direct speech without quotation marks. Thewebsite Älä kopsaa! gives multiple examples of plagiarism(http://blogs.helsinki.fi/alakopsaa/for-teachers/what-is-plagiarism/?lang=en)

Typical is the so-called copy-paste plagiarism, where you copy text straight from a sourcewithout referring correctly (picture below). Direct copying is not allowed even with areference, if quotation marks have not been used. Even translating a text from anotherlanguage can be seen as copy-paste – plagiarism. There may be restrictions in the amount andlength of correctly written references when considering plagiarism.

Plagiarism is also, when you tend to replace words with synonyms or change the order ofwords. This is called hiding the traces (picture below). So-called weak writing means that thewriter hides copying by mixing texts of multiple sources but still maintains their original forms.Another way is to make an insufficient reference, where the text cannot be checked properly.

If the sources have been presented in a way, where the reader is not sure which part of thetext is self-written and which is referred or quoted, this is plagiarism.

Self-referring can also be tricky in a scientific community. Often in publications and even thesisworks, the statements and reasoning can be based on previous own works, which may appear

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as similarity. There are differences between fields of science, on which stage it is appropriateto do self-referring.

Turnitin discovers these types of plagiarism quite well, but cannot notice more unusual types,such as copying a concept or style, where the writer duplicates someone else’s work, researchor structure as his/her own.

5.2 How to avoid plagiarism

It must be remembered that all similarities cannot be avoided or removed. Often informationabout the thesis are similar, as well as phrases and sayings (“The purpose of this paper…”, “Itwas noted that…” etc.) in addition to professional vocabulary can produce similarities withoutbeing plagiarism.

Some scientific phenomena or professional terms can be so exact that it is impossible topresent them otherwise, which will cause similarities (picture below). The student might oftenneed help in this kind of situations.

In addition, it should be kept in mind that the student needs to be given a chance to correctthe work. Plagiarism becomes unaccepted when, despite the feedback, the student will notcorrect the references when the work is submitted for grading.

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Instruct and inform the student to avoid the similarities that Turnitin notices (after Tuhkanen2015):

Even though it seems like the student has written the text him/herself, the referring isstill weak because the text or paragraph resembles too much to the original source.Synonyms, small adjustments and changes in the order of words have been used, butstill Turnitin will notice the similarities.Models of arguments often produce similarities, especially in texts written in English.These can be presenting the methods or results, or phrases where only numbers havebeen replaced with own data. Whole text paragraphs may not consists of this kind ofissues.

Sources:

Älä kopsaa!, http://blogs.helsinki.fi/alakopsaa/for-teachers/what-is-plagiarism/?lang=en

Tutkimuseettinen neuvottelukunta – Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity,http://www.tenk.fi/en

Tuhkanen Totti, Moodle-Turnitin käyttöopas opettajalle, 2015, available:https://www.utu.fi/fi/yksikko/yliopistopalvelut/opintohallinto/ohjauksen-ja-koulutuksen-tukipalvelut/ok/fairutu/Documents/Moodle-Turnitin-kayttoopas_opettajalle.pdf