Guidance for using TurnItIn to improve referencing

1. Guidance for using TurnItIn to improve referencing • The following guidance has been created for staff members to give to students when using TurnItIn as a tool to improve referencing (formative submissions). • It is intended that this guide will be adapted as necessary for different disciplines, due to variation in standards and formats for referencing. • Created by Diane Rushton (O&M), Marc Wells (O&M), and Brian Irwin (SLS)

2. Submitting your assignment via Blackboard When you submit your draft assignment from blackboard you will linked to the page below, at this point click on the submit icon as shown below.

3. Submitting your assignment via Blackboard • At this screen your first name and last name will automatically be entered. • You need to enter a submission title (tip: keep to assignment title set by your tutor) • Attach your assignment using the Browse... button. • Once you have attached your assignment click the submit button • TurnItIn will display the contents of the file you selected and ask you to confirm that this is the correct file you wish to submit. Click yes, submit. A digital receipt will be displayed onscreen and also emailed to your SHU email address. • After you submit, it will take from 10 minutes to 48 hours for your report to be generated. example title

4. Checking your assignment originality report Once you have submitted your assignment, an Originality Report will be generated for that assignment. You will see a screen similar to the one at the bottom. The number in the box is the percentage of text in your assignment that matches text in the database. This will include properly cited and quoted text in addition to plagiarised text, so it is necessary to evaluate the text identified in the report. If you do not see a percentage and instead see a greyed out box, then your report is still being generated and you should check again later (it may take up to 48 hours). Do not resubmit your paper if you have a grey box. Once you see the percentage, you can view your at the report by clicking on the box with the percentage. Note that the percentage does not indicate if you have plagiarised. The goal is not to get the percentage to 0, but to use TurnItIn to verify that text you have used is properly cited and referenced.

5. Example Originality Report This is an example originality report. The highlighted areas on the left are parts of the assignment which match text in the database, and you should evaluate to see if they are plagiarised. The items on the right hand side are links to the website / article / student paper where the text also appears. Originality reports are most useful when looking at the text in your paper that has matched other sources, and evaluating whether each section of text needs corrective action, or if it is okay as it is. The next slides are a series of examples of matching text that will or won't need corrective action. ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT LINKS TO SOURCES THAT MATCH

6. Quotations The quote on the left hand side (sample assignment) appears to be copied from the website on the right hand side. If you use a quote, however, you must include a proper citation, which normally includes author, date, and page number. The text in the submitted assignment (on the left) does not include these things, so they should be added to the essay to avoid plagiarism. The full reference should be included in the reference list at the end of the paper as well. Note that if the citation was present, that this text would be correct and no changes would be needed. add author, date and page here

7. Paraphrasing Below is an example where the student has only changed a few words from two paragraphs. This would be classed as plagiarism as there has been no attempt to reconstruct the original author's words. To solve this problem you need to rewrite the paragraph in your own words, citing the source, or use a direct quote with citation.

8. Reference Lists This is an example where the student's references have been found as matches in TurnItIn. This is perfectly acceptable, and not an example of plagiarism. In fact, properly referenced and commonly used sources will generally be found as matches in TurnItIn, as many other students will have used them. No action is needed in this situation, as the text is correct.

9. False Matches Sometimes TurnItIn will register a match in a situation where the text is similar to another piece of text in the database, but it will just be a coincidence. This is more likely to happen with small percentage matches (1% or below), and common phrases. No action is needed in this situation, as the text is not plagiarised, it is just a coincidence.

10. In-text Citations • In-text citations are used to link quotations and paraphrasing you use in your text to your reference list. • The example below uses Claudio Vignali as a reference for a particular point, but as it is currently structured it is incorrect. • PESTLE analysis enables managers to assemble a logical and comprehensive picture of the environment. As Claudio Vignali points out in his work, Virgin Cola should constantly evaluate the soft drinks industry in all countries, to maintain success. • To solve this problem, you need to add the date in the citation, as citations of paraphrases should include the author's name and the date. If you are citing a quotation, the page number should also be included: • PESTLE analysis enables managers to assemble a logical and comprehensive picture of the environment. As Claudio Vignali (1997) points out in his work, Virgin Cola should constantly evaluate the soft drinks industry in all countries, to maintain success.

11. Additional Support For more information on referencing, please refer to the LITS Referencing Guide: http://catalogue.shu.ac.uk/record=b1460281a or the shuspace guidance on referencing: http://students.shu.ac.uk/lits/resources/referencing.html