What to consider when using a plagiarism detector

Plagiarism detectors like Turnitin have become a standard tool in many classes as instructors have sought new ways to promote academic honesty in a cut-and-paste digital culture. And though that software can provide useful information to both instructors and students, it can easily be misused, increasing student anxiety and diminishing students’ confidence in their academic abilities. Here are some things to consider if you plan to use a plagiarism checker in your class.

Use Results as Information, Not Judge and Jury

Plagiarism detectors are often promoted as an easy way to prevent cheating on writing assignments. Students upload their papers to a learning management system and a plagiarism detector checks the work against a database. It then returns a report with potential problem areas. The flagging of material does not in itself mean that the student has plagiarized. It simply means that similarities were found, including appropriately used quotes, citations, and common descriptions. So rather than using the tool as an omniscient evaluator, take steps to use it fairly and meaningfully.

  • Talk with students. If a paper comes back with a high number of flagged items, first look at what was flagged and why. If you think the report is accurate, talk with students about your concerns and give them an opportunity to revisit their work and learn from their mistakes. Even a report that flags legitimate material can help promote conversations about academic standards, disciplinary conventions, and expectations in academic writing.
  • Avoid definitive cutoffs. We have heard from students about classes in which instructors automatically reject papers that have 10% to 15% of their content flagged by a plagiarism detector. We understand the appeal of absolute limits, especially when time is short and class sizes are increasing. That approach generates unneeded anxiety among students, though, and fails to take into account the inherent weaknesses in plagiarism detectors. A better approach would be to set ranges of percentages that lead to various actions:
    • Meeting with the instructor and discussing the assignment;
    • Having students go over the report from the plagiarism detector, making revisions on their own, and attaching a brief summary of what they did;
    • Discussing the reports in groups in class, looking for similarly flagged work and providing a summary to the instructor;
    • Meeting with a representative of the Writing Center, either on their own or during a class session, to discuss the report and to create a plan for revising as necessary.
  • Don’t just set it and go. Even if you have considerable experience with plagiarism detectors, read the reports carefully and adjust the settings as needed. Again, the reports provide information. They don’t render judgments.

Dig Deeper Into Similarity Reports

A plagiarism detector has no power to think. It simply looks for similarities in language programmed into it as it compares a student’s paper to works in various databases. As the instructor, you have the option to adjust many of the settings, and you should.

  • Exclude bibliographies and references. If students are following proper citation style, these will always be flagged.
  • Adjust the number of consecutive words checked. Using a smaller number (five, for example) will lead to more material being flagged.
  • Adjust for names. A student’s name will be flagged if a student has turned in a paper before, as will any name in previously submitted papers.
  • Take students’ previous submissions into account. Once a student paper is submitted to a database, that paper becomes part of the database. So a paper that is resubmitted is very likely to have a large percentage of material flagged by a plagiarism checker.

Help Students Understand Disciplinary Conventions and Plagiarism Reports

Talk with students about what plagiarism detectors do and how they work. (Turnitin has good explanatory material on interpreting its reports.) Don’t assume that students know what plagiarism is. Definitions vary widely, and reports from plagiarism detectors can confuse and frustrate students. That makes it crucial to talk with students about your expectations and about how you will interpret the reports from Turnitin.

  • Establish common understanding. Instructors should help students understand what plagiarism is and why they are trying to prevent it. They should also explain the difference between similarities and plagiarism, as reports from plagiarism detectors lack that ability.
  • Work with students on citation. Many students are confused about what they need to cite. What is common knowledge? What is a unique idea? The Writing Center’s guide on crediting sources can help, but instructors need to make their expectations clear.  
  • Work with students on citation style. Make it clear to students what they need to include in citations and why you are using a particular citation style. That can open up conversations on the conventions of writing for different audiences and the expectations and goals of different disciplines. For instance, MLA style includes page numbers because scholars often want to look up passages. APA style emphasizes newness, focusing on year of publication. Chicago style emphasizes completeness of citations, along with footnotes or endnotes, to help scholars judge validity and a progression of ideas. Discussions of citation style can help students understand how to avoid plagiarism by clarifying when and how to cite. (Again, Writing Center guides are a good resource.)

Design Assignments to Avoid Plagiarism

Good assignment design improves student motivation and student learning. It can also prove time efficient, even though good assignments often take time to create and to grade. That’s because plagiarism and other cases of academic dishonesty often require hours of time in gathering materials, responding to queries, and sitting in meetings. So spending a little more time upfront may ultimately save you many hours later.

  • Scaffold assignments. Scaffolded assignments give you the opportunity to see students’ ideas developing over the course of the semester and allow for frequent intervention and guidance. These assignments can help students avoid time management problems that can lead to plagiarism by providing a series of deadlines to guide them to the final product. Scaffolding can also help students feel more confident about their mastery of a topic, increasing their sense of ownership and decreasing their fear of failure. These assignments can also make grading quicker and more efficient, allowing you to focus on a smaller number of skills for each section of the assignment.
  • Give students choices. Rather than require everyone to complete the same assignment, give students choices. For instance, you may suggest three or more general areas for research or types of assignments. From those, students choose one to refine and turn into their own work. That approach empowers and motivates students, making it less likely that they will cheat.
  • Use authentic assignments. Authentic assignments have applications outside the classroom. For example, some instructors have students write informative articles or opinion pieces that draw on a disciplinary perspective. Others have students write Wikipedia articles, create blogs or websites, or make posters or create social media material related to a cause. These assignments offer choices and make work public, giving students incentives to do their best.

Understand Why Students Plagiarize

Modern conventions of plagiarism in Western society began to take shape during the 17th century as the printing press allowed written ideas and creative works to be shared more widely. The concept solidified in ensuing centuries with copyright laws, the growth of academia, the growth of professionalism, and the creation of a consumer society. The internet made plagiarism easier than ever, coinciding with a growth in college enrollment and increasing competition in a global society. That context is important in understanding why students plagiarize.

  • Ignorance or misunderstanding. In some cultures, copying someone else’s work is considered a compliment and an acknowledgement of respect. Even in cultures that consider plagiarism a form of dishonesty, definitions of plagiarism are often vague. As Sarah Elaine Eaton writes: “In a digital age where creativity abounds, when it comes to plagiarism neither students, nor faculty, always know clearly where or how to draw the line.”
  • Pressure and anxiety. Many students feel intense pressure to succeed, sometimes to meet expectations of a scholarship or their parents. Others feel pressure to maintain a high GPA so they can get into graduate school or medical school. Rather than risk failing or receiving a lower grade, they take shortcuts.
  • Failure to see value in an assignment or a class. Students often talk about “worthless classes” or “worthless assignments.” That devaluing of a class or its work can prompt them to cheat.
  • Laziness or fatigue. Some students would rather use their time for something else besides coursework, so they take the easiest route to completing assignments. Others work long hours, have family responsibilities, or wear themselves out with non-academic activities.
  • Lack of moral responsibility. Some students see themselves as having less moral or ethical responsibility than people in the workforce, essentially giving themselves permission to cheat as needed. Some also see peers cheating without punishment and simply follow that lead. During the early months of the pandemic, many students justified cheating because they thought they were unfairly hindered by taking classes remotely.

None of that excuses plagiarism. Rather, it can help instructors push back against student misperceptions and guide them toward assignments that counter challenges and attitudes.

Resources

“Beyond Plagiarism: Best Practices for the Responsible Use of Sources,” Sweetland Center for Writing, University of Michigan.

"Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices,” Council of Writing Program Administrators (2019).

Eaton, Sarah Elaine. "Comparative Analysis of Institutional Policy Definitions of Plagiarism: A Pan-Canadian University Study."Interchange 48, no. 3 (08, 2017): 271-281. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-017-9300-7.

Writing Guides, University of Kansas Writing Center.