We develop knowledge, talent, and skills for a lifetime of 
learning, service, and citizenship

Instructional Technology 

MSUM / Instructional Technology / Turnitin @ MSUM  

Account Request

Faculty Basics

Student Basics

Student Rights

Turnitin.com

What is Plagiarism?

Resources

Training Presentation - Faculty

Training Presentation - Student

 

"Adam was the only man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody had said it before him." - Mark Twain

Turnitin.com ---  Deterring Plagiarism

What is Turnitin.com? 
Plagiarism, or “ presenting another's ideas as your own,” has become a growing problem and concern on college campuses, especially since the Internet has become a pervasive presence. As Don McCabe of the Center for Academic Integrity writes, “Internet plagiarism is a growing concern on all campuses as students struggle to understand what constitutes acceptable use of the Internet.” According to a 2003 study by Rutgers of 18,000 college students in 23 institutions, 38% of the undergraduate students responding indicated they had “engaged in one or more instances of cut & paste plagiarism using the Internet in the past year - paraphrasing or copying a few sentences of material from the Internet without citing the source." This is a big increase from a similar survey conducted in 2001, when only 10% acknowledged “cut & paste” plagiarism.

MSUM has purchased a license for Turnitin.com’s services in order to detect and prevent plagiarism. Turnitin.com is an Internet-based plagiarism detection service created at the University of California, Berkeley by a Professor and a graduate student. This service scans submitted works for similarity to material from public web sites, academic journals and popular magazines found in proprietary databases, papers purchased from term paper mills, and essays and assignments concurrently or previously submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin is able to detect strings of words as short as eight in materials in its database. Sections of the student’s submission which match the database are underlined, linked, and color coded to show the matching/similar text. The determination of a potential breach of academic honesty is made entirely by the instructor of the course. The use of this service is a tool for the professor in the normal process of evaluating, marking and grading assignments in courses. 

Turnitin @ MSUM Training:
Turnitin @ MSUM will offer faculty workshops at the beginning of each semester covering the use and management of Turnitin.com. Individualized training and support for faculty prior to and during the academic year is also available. To schedule individualized training, e-mail turnitin@mnstate.edu. Training sessions will be held in Library 222, the LIT Center. Contact Turnitin @ MSUM with questions. In addition, a self-guided Training Presentation (PowerPoint format) is also available.