Plagiarism Check: Using Turnitin Software And Grave Dangers of Plagiarism

Plagiarism has been a problem in academia and the professional world for decades. Individuals can now easily copy and paste text from multiple sources without proper acknowledgement thanks to technological advancements. Turnitin is one of the most extensively used plagiarism detection systems. In this post, we will look at the concept of plagiarism, how Turnitin does plagiarism checks, how it affects academic integrity, and how to effectively avoid plagiarism.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else’s work, ideas, or intellectual property without giving due recognition. This unethical practice undermines the original author’s efforts and misleads people into thinking the plagiarist’s work is original.

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Types of Plagiarism

Plagiarism can take several forms, including direct copying, paraphrasing without citations, self-plagiarism, and mosaic plagiarism.

• Direct Copying: This is also called Verbatim Plagiarism or simply put, copy and paste.
• Paraphrase Plagiarism: This is copying someone else’s ideas and words and rewording them to appear like your original work. ALL paraphrased work should be appropriately cited and referenced.
• Self-Plagiarism: This means copying your previous work, or a portion of it for another research or assignment without acknowledgement.
• Accidental Plagiarism: You could forget to cite or reference a source, right? This could happen to anyone.
• Mosaic Plagiarism: This occurs when you borrow someone’s words without quotation marks, and use synonyms to replace some words but generally use the same structure as that of the writer.

 What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is a popular online application that detects plagiarism in uploaded documents. It analyses the provided content against an extensive database of academic papers, publications, and websites to detect similarities and potential cases of plagiarism.

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How Turnitin Works

A sophisticated algorithm is used by Turnitin to analyse the supplied text and provide an originality report. This report draws attention to any texts that match those in its database, highlighting potential plagiarism.

How To Do Plagiarism Check Using Turnitin

A few things to consider:

• Log in through your Institution’s account.
• An individual/Student account can only be used with your .edu account or an account that associates you with your university/college
• You need to enrol in a class before you can do plagiarism checks.

If you’re a student or lecturer associated with a university/ college and don’t have any details to log in, see the university’s IT admin.

If your university/college does not have a Turnitin account, then you won’t be able to use this.

Find out if your university accepts resubmissions for your submitted work so that you can check, correct and submit plagiarised work. Also, you can use a colleague’s credentials to do your plagiarism checks but be careful you don’t submit it as theirs, especially if resubmissions are not allowed.

Repercussions of Plagiarism

For scholars, professionals, and students alike, plagiarism can have serious repercussions. It may result in academic sanctions, harm to one’s reputation, negative legal outcomes, and even expulsion from institutes of higher learning.

1. Academic Integrity and Ethics

It is essential to sustain academic honesty if we are to preserve the values of learning and research. Plagiarism damages educational institutions’ legitimacy, and student-teacher relationships suffer as a result.

2. Destroys Student’s Reputation

You will be penalized according to the ethical code of your institution. You either fail the course, get a suspension or outright dismissal. It could also be indicated on your transcript and this will affect you in the future. Research is painstaking, but if it must be done, then it must be done well. In some cases, you could be suspended or expelled.

3. Legal Issues

In severe cases, you could be sued for not acknowledging a researcher after using their material. This could count as fraud or copyright issues. As they say, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”.

4. Destroys your Career

A notation on your transcript as a student affects your future opportunities when job haunting. As a lecturer or academia, educational institutions and the academic community will be wary of you.

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How To Avoid Plagiarism

• Use Plagiarism Detection Software

The incorporation of plagiarism detection systems like Turnitin into the educational system can serve as a disincentive to plagiarism. The dread of being caught can deter students and authors from participating in unethical behaviour.

• Promoting Creativity and Originality

Sensitization of the punitive measures against plagiarised research work will deter the academic community and encourage them to be unique in their thought, and originality in writing can help lessen the desire to plagiarise. Students and writers should be encouraged to create their own distinct ideas and points of view.

• Proper Citation and Referencing

It is critical to teach students how to appropriately credit and reference materials to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. Understanding several reference formats, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, may be pretty useful.

Plagiarism, especially with easy access to online information, is still a significant concern in academia and other fields. Turnitin is crucial in detecting and preventing this issue. However, it is important to prioritize preventive measures and encourage academic integrity. Educating students, writers, and researchers about the ethical consequences of plagiarism and promoting a culture of originality can help create a more truthful and respectful academic environment.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q1: Is Turnitin the only plagiarism detection tool available?

While Turnitin is a well-known plagiarism detection tool, there are other options to consider, such as Grammarly, Copyscape, and Plagscan. Each of these alternatives has its unique features.

Q2: Can Turnitin detect paraphrased content?

It is crucial to be aware that Turnitin can detect paraphrased content through its advanced algorithms that can identify similarities in sentence structure and word selection. By ensuring that your work is original and not simply a rewording of existing work, you can avoid the potential consequences of plagiarism and demonstrate your academic integrity. Don’t take any chances – always strive to produce unique and authentic content in your assignments and papers.

Q3: Is self-plagiarism considered unethical?

Yes, self-plagiarism is the use of one’s previous research without proper reference, and it is a violation of academic integrity.

Q4: Can Turnitin differentiate between intentional and unintentional plagiarism?

No, Turnitin’s primary role is to detect similar content; it cannot discern the intent of the plagiarism.

Q5: Is Turnitin foolproof in detecting all instances of plagiarism?

While Turnitin is good at detecting similarities, it may miss some instances of plagiarism, mainly if the original material is not in its database.

Don’t have time to do plagiarism checks or need help with your research, assignment or term paper? Contact Page Writer Ghana, your trusted source for original research content. All the best, and see you in our next article.