PLAGIARISM AND 'TURNITIN'

This document provides information about the concept of plagiarism and ways in which it can be avoided. It also introduces Turnitin, the online plagiarism detection tool currently being trialled by Wollongong University.

1. PLAGIARISM

The first section of this document looks at the following questions

1. What is plagiarism?
2. Is plagiarism limited to words and ideas?
3. Why should I acknowledge the work of others?
4. What are the penalties for plagiarism?
5. How can I avoid plagiarism?
6. What is the policy for plagiarism at Wollongong University?
7. Where can I get further assistance with tertiary literacy skills and conventions?

i. What is plagiarism?

Simply put, plagiarism is using the words and/or ideas of others – authors, critics, journalists, academics, artists, lecturers, tutors, other students, and so on – without giving them proper acknowledgement. In short, plagiarism is presenting the words and/or ideas of others as though they were your own. It is important to note that whether information is plagiarised intentionally or unintentionally, it is still considered plagiarism. For this reason, you need to

• provide a reference whenever you include information from other sources in your work, and
• be aware of the academic conventions concerning referencing.

ii. Is plagiarism limited to words and ideas?

Plagiarism is not limited to words and ideas; it also includes materials such as video and audio recordings, art and graphics, maps, diagrams, graphs and tables, computer programs or codes, research, and so on. This material can come from published sources, including books, journals, websites, films, newspapers and journals as well as unpublished sources such as lecture and tutorial notes and work by students.

iii. Why should I acknowledge the work of others?

There are two main reasons why you should acknowledge the sources of your information:

1. By not acknowledging the sources, you are in effect stealing (i.e. plagiarising).
2. By acknowledging the sources correctly and effectively, you are strengthening your own work.

a. Not Acknowledging Sources

Plagiarism is, in essence, an issue of intellectual property. If someone else has spent a great deal of time researching a topic, for example, then it is only right for that person to be credited for this work. Not acknowledging the intellectual property of others in your own work is the academic equivalent of stealing. The University of Wollongong’s policy on acknowledging sources of information states that if a student fails to properly acknowledge the sources used in her/his work, this is:

• unfair to the author;
• unfair to other students who do their own work without copying;
• failure to do independent work as expected in a university; and
• breach of copyright.

(http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/plagiarism.html)

b. Acknowledging Sources

Generally speaking, academic sources – statistics, facts, expert opinions, examples – strengthen your work by showing it is not only your personal opinion, but is also a well-informed and well-supported view. This is not to say that by including a lot of research into your work you will automatically create an academic text. To effectively use sources in your work, there are academic conventions that you need to learn, like when to use direct and indirect quotations and how to integrate evidence into your writing, just to name a few. These conventions are discussed in part v, How can I avoid plagiarism?

iv. What are the penalties for plagiarism?

The penalties for plagiarism can be severe and can range from a zero grade for an assignment or subject to expulsion from a subject and from the university. For this reason, you need to learn how to avoid plagiarism.

v. How can I avoid plagiarism?

Avoiding plagiarism is made easier by developing an awareness of academic writing skills and conventions. Some of these include:

1. Efficient and effective note-taking and note-making strategies;
2. An understanding of the difference between direct and indirect quotations;
3. An understanding of the difference between summarising and paraphrasing;
4. An understanding of how to integrate evidence from sources into your writing; and
5. An understanding of referencing conventions.

Short explanations of these conventions and skills are provided below. It should be noted, however, that this information is highly condensed and is only meant to create a general awareness. The skills required to avoid plagiarism and to effectively integrate sources into your work are quite detailed. For this reason, links to pages within the University of Wollongong’s UniLearning website (http://unilearning.uow.edu.au) have been included to provide more detailed explanations and interactive activities. Finally, you should also refer to the guidelines for referencing within your faculty, as there can be minor variations across the university.

a. Note-taking/ Note-making Strategies

Effective note-taking and note-making strategies will help you to keep records of exactly where you have found your information. There is nothing worse than finding information and integrating it into your work only to find that you can’t remember where you found it. Remember, if you can’t reference the information, you can’t use it. An effective and efficient method of note-taking is the Cornell Method as it separates notes into themes, notes, and responses, in the process helping you to develop a critical response as you read.

To learn more about the Cornell Method of note-taking, go to
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/notetake/note12_cornell.html

b. Direct and Indirect Quotations

An indirect quotation is when you use the ideas of the author but use your own words. An indirect quotation must be referenced as the ideas are not yours. An indirect quotation can either be a summary or a paraphrase of the original and should not change the meaning by removing or adding essential information. The difference between a summary and a paraphrase is explained in part c.A direct quotation is when you use the exact words of the author in your work. Of course, a direct quotation must be referenced. There are specific conventions for using direct quotations in your work; for instance, direct quotations should be used far less frequently than indirect quotations. Also, a direct quotation should be enclosed by quotation marks, unless it is longer than a few lines, in which case it should be indented. These are just two of many conventions relating to the use of direct quotations.

To learn more about using indirect and direct quotations, go to
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/notetake/note20_quotes.html

c. Summarising and Paraphrasing

A summary and a paraphrase are both indirect quotations; that is, they both encapsulate the ideas of an author but are expressed in your own words. There are two types of summary: an outline summary and a main point summary. An outline summary reduces a piece of text to at least a third the length of the original, whereas a main point summary is a sentence or two that states the main idea of a text or piece of text.

To learn more about summarising, go to
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/notetake/note17_sum.html

A paraphrase is usually about the same length as the original piece of text but is written in your own words. You need to be aware of acceptable levels of paraphrasing. Changing words and/or the grammar is often not sufficient. A paraphrase must be in your own words, and, as with a summary, you must not alter the meaning of the original.

To learn more about paraphrasing, go to
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/notetake/note16_para.html

d. Integrating Evidence into your writing

When using evidence in your writing, it must be integrated in such a way that it supports your argument; evidence should not be presented as a substitute for establishing your own argument. A common mistake is to present a lot of information that is not integrated in such a way that it supports an argument. In such cases, the marker is left wondering how the information directly answers the question.

To learn more about integrating quotes/evidence into your writing, go to
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/4b.html

e. Referencing Conventions

Why reference? At university it is necessary to acknowledge the sources of information and ideas that you have incorporated into your assignments. Failure to do this thoroughly may result in accusations of plagiarism. While some students may view plagiarism as a relatively harmless offence, university departments take it very seriously.

Referencing is not only about acknowledging other people’s work: accurate referencing and lists of references are beneficial as they allow readers to follow up information and read further into the area. This aspect of referencing will become more valuable to you as you progress in your studies.

When to reference

You should include a reference when you have incorporated an idea or concept into your work which is not your own (although you don’t need to include a reference when the idea or concept is common knowledge in your discipline). A reference is required regardless of whether those ideas or concepts are quoted in an author’s words, or whether they are rephrased in your own words (paraphrasing or summarising).

How to reference: referencing systems

There are two main referencing systems: in-text referencing (otherwise known as the author-date or Harvard System of referencing) and the notation system of referencing. These differ in i) the format of the references, and ii) in the location of the references. In-text referencing incorporates information on the author of the material cited and the date of publication within the body of the text, whereas the notation system places this information either at the bottom of the page (footnotes), or at the end of the text (endnotes). One disadvantage of in-text referencing is that the references may interrupt the flow of the text. Footnotes and endnotes, on the other hand, also pose a problem because they require the reader to look outside the body of the text for the reference.

A comparison of the different types of referencing systems can be viewed at
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/4ciii.html

Different faculties and departments have their preferred referencing system. If no guidelines regarding referencing are given in your subject outline or Faculty handbook, the best thing to do is to check with your lecturer or tutor.

vi. What is the policy for plagiarism at Wollongong University?

To see the rules for acknowledging sources of information and for plagiarism, go to http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/plagiarism.html. This document covers:

1. Acknowledgment Practice.
2. Plagiarism.
3. Acknowledging Sources of Quotations.
4. Acknowledging Sources of Ideas.
5. Paraphrasing.
6. Common Knowledge.
7. How to Avoid Plagiarism.
8. Academic Unit Procedures for Investigating Plagiarism and other Forms of Cheating.

vii. Where can I get further assistance with tertiary literacy skills and conventions?

The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) offers lunchtime workshops, web resources, handouts and individual consultations on various academic skills such as academic writing, editing, referencing, essay & report writing, critical reading & writing, note-taking, and so on.

For more information, contact the Learning Resource Centre in G102, Building 19.
Phone: 4221 3977
http://www.uow.edu.au/student/services/ld/

2. TURNITIN

The second section of this document looks at the following questions:

1. What is Turnitin?
2. How is Turnitin used at UOW?
3. How do I use Turnitin?
4. How can I get more help with using Turnitin?

i. What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is an Internet-based tool for detecting plagiarism. Turnitin checks each paper submitted to it against content websites such as academic resources, online encyclopaedias and paper mills as well as its constantly growing database of student papers and academic texts in order to check for instances of plagiarism. Each paper generates an ‘originality report’ that tells the person who submitted it (the student or the lecturer) the similarity found between the paper and all the sources checked by Turnitin . In effect, Turnitin creates ‘digital fingerprints’ of text documents (your submitted paper and all the websites and papers it searches) and checks them for matches against each other. It also aims to develop student academic and writing skills by promoting plagiarism awareness and alternatives.

ii. How is Turnitin used at UOW?

The University of Wollongong’s Use of Turnitin Policy came into effect as of January 1, 2006. The aims are both to increase the plagiarism awareness of students and to assist teaching staff in detecting plagiarism.

It is hoped that by making students aware of plagiarism and plagiarism detection tools and also by providing instruction in how to avoid plagiarising, its incidence will decrease.

iii. How do I use Turnitin?

Before using Turnitin, you need to register and join a class/classes.

a. Registering with Turnitin

• You begin by using your web browser to get to the Turnitin homepage at www.turnitin.com
• Click on the create a user profile link in the top right corner of the page, below the login box.

Note that all the following instructions appear on the screen when you hit the create a user profile link and that you will be guided through the steps by user-friendly prompts. You can choose to read the instructions below or simply got to Turnitin and create a profile for yourself. If you chose to do this, please note you will first need a class ID and enrollment password, which you should have received from your instructor.

• To complete the Create a new user profile form there are 5 steps.
  • Step 1: Enter a valid email address. This will be your Turnitin user name.
  • Step 2: Enter your personal password. Note it must be 6-12 characters long, and contain at least one letter and one number.
  • Step 3: Enter your name and country.
  • Step 4: Select your user type (student, instructor, or administrator). You will select student.
  • Step 5: Read the user agreement. If you are happy with the agreement, select I agree—continue with profile. You have now completed your user profile and are registered with Turnitin.

b. Enrolling in a Class:

Now that you have registered with Turnitin, you need to Enrol in a Turnitin class. You can either

1. hit the start class enrollment wizard option, or
2. return to the homepage and login.

   (NOTE that to enrol in a class, you will need a class ID and enrollment password, which you should have received from your instructor.)

   • Option A: If you select the class enrollment wizard option, then simply enter the class ID and enrollment password. If successful, you will see a welcome page informing you of the class into which you have enrolled. Be sure to confirm the details before hitting the end wizard and go to login page link. Back on the homepage, enter your full email address (i.e. your Turnitin username) and your personal Turnitin password in the boxes in the top right corner of the page, then hit submit. You should now be taken your student homepage, where you should see your new class listed in the middle, stripped section of the page. Enter a class by clicking on its name.
     
   • Option B: If you return to the homepage, enter your full email address (i.e. your Turnitin username) and your personal Turnitin password in the boxes in the top right corner of the page then hit submit. You should now be taken your student homepage. Hit the enrol in a class button in top left corner of the middle, stripped section of the page (which displays your Turnitin classrooms). You will now need to enter the class ID and enrollment password. If successful, you should see your new class listed in the stripped section. Enter a class by clicking on its name.

Note

• Your personal Turnitin home page lists all the classes that you are enrolled in.
• It is possible to delete classes from your homepage by using the drop class icon.

c. Submitting a paper

• You can only submit a paper by entering into the ‘classroom’ of a class in which you are enrolled. See the steps above for how to enrol in a class. Enter the classroom by clicking on the class name in your class portfolio
• Your classroom page is divided into two broad sections: to the left is your assignment list and to the right is your portfolio.
• In your assignment list, to the right of the assignment that you must submit, you will see an icon of a document beneath the submit column. Click this to submit an assignment.
• You will now be asked to attach your assignment.
• Before you submit your assignment, you will need to copy the following declaration and paste at the top of your title page:
  
  I declare that this assignment is original and has not been submitted for assessment elsewhere, and acknowledge that the assessor of this assignment may, for the purpose of assessing this assignment:
  • reproduce this assignment and provide a copy to another member of faculty;
    and/or
  • communicate a copy of this assignment to a plagiarism checking service (which may then retain a copy of this assignment on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking).
       
        
• Note: if for any reason you do not want your assignment to be retained on the Turnitin database, you are required to contact your lecturer/tutor before submission.
• There are two ways to attach your assignment:
• • The easiest way is to upload the paper from your computer by selecting the BROWSE button. This allows you to navigate to the paper on your computer. To do this, your assignment must be in one of the following formats: Word, Text, Postscript, PDF, HTML, and RTF
  • If your document is not in one of the required formats, you can also submit your assignment by cutting and pasting the text of your paper into the box provided.

• When you have filled in the ‘submit a paper’ page and either uploaded your paper or pasted it into the form, click on the SUBMIT button.
• The next page to come up will show you a copy of the text you have submitted. You will need to check this is correct and then click the yes submit button. If it is not correct, you will need to go back and reattach the file or re-paste it into the paper submission form.
• Once you hit submit, you will receive a Turnitin digital receipt, which will be emailed to you and which you may choose to print at this stage.
• A record of your submitted assignment will appear in your ‘classroom’. You can access the submitted text by clicking on the doc link beneath the contents column in your portfolio. In addition, if your lecturer has decided to allow you access to the originality report generated by your assignment, you can also access this report by clicking on the document icon next to the submitted date in your portfolio. Note that the icon will be coloured once it has been graded. These colours indicate the level of originality of your assignment.

iv. How can I get more help with using Turnitin?

• For a quick tutorial on how to use Turnitin, go to http://www.turnitin.com/static/training_support/tii_student_quickstart.html
• For a more detailed tutorial or reference source, go to the Tours and Quickstarts option in the bottom menu bar on your welcome page. Clicking on this option allows you to access quick tours, more in-depth tours or an instruction manual.
• If you can’t find the information you require in one of the tours or the manual, you can also email helpdesk@turnitin.com.