Turnitin
Electronic Detection Service
The electronic detection software does not make decisions about the intention of unoriginal work, nor does it determine if unoriginal content is incorrectly cited or indeed plagiarised. It simply highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources to help academic staff members make these decisions. In many cases this will lead the academic member of staff to provide feedback to students on how to improve their coursework submissions and citations. All assessment decisions will continue to be made by the course tutor who will review the entire work. Both students and tutors are able to submit work to the service.
Using electronic detection software can:
- Promote academic integrity;
- Aid in improving / standardising disciplinary procedures;
- Highlight poor / sloppy writing and research skills;
- Highlight inappropriate / inadequate assessment practice;
- Provoke discussion and debate;
- Deter plagiarism and collusion.
Comparisons are carried out against the following:
- A database of previously submitted material (i.e. other students essays and assignments
- Over 4.5 billion URLs
- Essays from cheat sites
- Selected subscription services (Proquest Database)
- Copyright free material, such as the Gutenberg Project