Anti-plagiarism site available

SIUC faculty and students can now take advantage of a Web-based resource that checks for plagiarism in written assignments.

The University purchased a site license for faculty to access the service, known as Turnitin.

Turnitin is a Web site that boasts an incredibly large database of articles, research papers and Internet-based materials. Its archives encompass more than 4.5 billion Web pages, millions of published works, including periodical abstracts and electronic books and millions of term papers written by students all over the world.

"We’re pleased to be able to offer this to our faculty. They formally requested this service by way of a Faculty Senate resolution passed in November. Turnitin is a high-tech tool to help students excel at original thinking and writing and in mastering proper ways to cite or use outside source material," said John M. Dunn, provost and vice chancellor.

This service may prompt students to take more responsibility for their learning and it provides guidance as they learn to conduct research, write and cite resources. It also helps improve the efficiency of the evaluation of student work by faculty. More than 3,500 institutions in 51 countries around the world have purchased licenses to use Turnitin.

Each professor who chooses to use the service will receive an account identification number. After that, faculty may take advantage of Turnitin’s anti-plagiarism function that compares students’ term papers -- submitted online -- with Turnitin’s archived, original works, Web sites, and previously published material. Potentially plagiarized content is highlighted and its likely sources are identified in a resulting “originality report.”

Teachers and students will be able to download and print user manuals to assist them with effectively using Turnitin to help improve student research and writing.

Each college will determine how best to use Turnitin. Orientation materials as well as sign-up information will be available to faculty in upcoming weeks.

Many people contributed to making this service available. They include the staff at Information Technology, who made the initial contacts and negotiated the contract and who will provide technical support. Also, Instructional Support Services, or ISS, at Morris Library will be providing training in the use of Turnitin for faculty members who would like it. The ISS staff will be available to answer questions about Turnitin and they may be reached at 453-2258.

For a look at the service’s features, go to: http://turnitin.com.