Turnitin

Although not mandatory, the University encourages all Faculties and Departments to make use of Turnitin software, although the method of use will vary depending on the subject area and course; some courses will screen all work, while some may undertake random checks or only screen individual pieces of work if concerns are raised.  Any piece of assessed work - both formative and summative assessment - may be submitted to the software for similarity review.  Where the software may indicate a breach of academic integrity, further investigation will be undertaken in line with University policy (Investigating academic misconduct and mark checks | Student Complaints/)

Download the University's Policy on the Use of Turnitin

Terms and Conditions

Access to the University's Turnitin licence is subject to the following Terms and Conditions, which must be accepted by individuals before access is granted:  

  1. Turnitin UK may only be used for the screening of student work in relation to a course of study at the University of Cambridge; it may not be used for screening commercial or published work.
  2. Sufficient guidance about good academic practice in all types of assessment is provided to students on the relevant course of study.
  3. Students have been, or will be, notified of the intended use and process for Turnitin UK on the relevant course.
  4. The limitations of using Turnitin UK are understood, and the resulting similarity reports will be carefully reviewed and utilised appropriately.
  5. Actions taken in response to Turnitin UK similarity reports will be in line with University policy for the investigation of academic misconduct.
  6. Records will be kept on the use of Turnitin UK and actions taken in response; these records will be made available to the Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA) for use in any subsequent review action or to help evaluate the impact of the software.
  7. Material submitted directly to Turnitin UK will use only examination numbers, or another number created for that purpose; student names will not be used, including in the filename. 

Users will be required to agree to these Terms and Conditions either on request for a direct-access account, or when setting up a Moodle Turnitin Assignment.

These Terms and Conditions were agreed by the General Board's Education Committee in June 2021 and overwrite any previous T&Cs.  

Who can use Turnitin? 

Under the University's licence any member of academic staff across the collegiate institution may use it.  This extends to College staff where they are supervising or teaching for a University degree or award, but not for College use for non-registered students (for example, in admissions or commercial activity).  Students are not provided with access to the licence, except where this is provided by the course or College as part of a formative exercise on their course of study.

It is only permissible to use Turnitin as part of the University's licence where the check is in relation to one of the University's courses of study; it may not be used for checking research or commercial work.

How can I access Turnitin?

Via Moodle

Using the Turnitin Assignment Tool, Moodle can provide a Turnitin originality report for each piece of work submitted.  Students submit the work to Moodle, and all access with the Turnitin report is managed via Moodle.  This method is most appropriate for those choosing blanket screening. 

The tool is available to use for anyone with a 'teacher' role on that course; however, note that anyone with a 'teacher' role will also be able to view the resulting reports.  It is therefore important to ensure that when you use this tool, robust mechanisms are in place to ensure appropriate interpretation and understanding of the reports, and that action is taken in line with University Policy.

Turnitin account

Turnitin accounts connected to your CRSID may be requested via University Information Services (UIS); full details are on this page Text matching software | IT Help and Support 

Non-enrolled students

Turnitin does not support assignment submissions on behalf of non-enrolled students. This workflow is now only available to users with a direct access account to Turnitinuk.com. It does not affect users accessing Turnitin via Moodle. 

There is a Quick Submit option on the Instructor homepage where you can still spot check a paper without the need for a student to be enrolled.  View the Turnitin guides below to learn how: 

 

All students should be aware that any work submitted may be submitted to Turnitin UK software for screening.

What Turnitin does

Turnitin compares the text of submitted work to sources in its database, which is made up of internet content, selected journals, and previous student submissions.  The software then provides an originality report, which identifies the extent of matched text by highlighting the matches and providing an overall percentage match.  What Turnitin cannot do is to then interpret this report.  The matched text can often include a number of entirely innocent matches, such as entries in the bibliography, the essay title used by all students, or small matches like "the University of Cambridge".  Reports will be scrutinised by an academic member of staff, who will review the report to determine whether the matches may indicate wider concerns around poor scholarly technique or an attempt to gain unfair advantage, and whether any further action should be taken.

Consequences of matched text

As above, Turnitin can only show the extent of matched text; it cannot make any judgement about the seriousness of the matches, and whether these may indicate poor academic practice or an attempt to gain unfair advantage.  If matched text is identified, the Chair of Examiners (or Degree Committee, as appropriate), will undertake further investigation in line with University procedures.  You may be called for an investigative interview or other disciplinary action. 

It is your responsibility to understand and to demonstrate good scholarly technique and academic integrity. If you are in any doubt, contact your College Tutor or Director of Studies in the first instance; they will help you to understand expectations and seek support.

Consent

The University does not require consent from students to submit work to the Turnitin database for the purposes of academic misconduct detection and education, as this is considered one of the contractual, statutory, or public interest purposes in which we manage your personal data; more information on how your data is used can be found on the University's Data Protection pages for students.  However, you do retain the right to remove your work from the Turnitin database after it has been checked, if you wish.  We hope that you will choose to keep your work within the database so as to maximise the effectiveness of the software and to protect your work from future attempts to plagiarise it.  Information on how to remove your work can be found on this page Text matching software | IT Help and Support.