Plagiarism

The Libraries provide access to Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention service that detects textual matches between student papers and other documents available in electronic form on the Internet, in subscription databases, and in databases of student papers.  This service can be fully integrated into Moodle and Blackboard Learn.  UMass Amherst student papers submitted to the service since January 2006 are stored in a special database accessible only to UMass Amherst faculty and not to anyone at any other institution that subscribes to Turnitin (hence student intellectual property rights are protected).

Turnitin with Moodle or Blackboard Learn is ideal for instructors who already have a Moodle/Blackboard Learn course, and/or for large courses.  We recommend that instructors use the Turnitin Web site when they would like to submit just a few suspect papers for review and do not wish to use Moodle/Blackboard Learn.

Faculty Use of Turnitin

Faculty using Turnitin outside of Moodle/Blackboard Learn must contact the Library for account information. Faculty may use plagiarism prevention services during the grading process as described in the Academic Regulations 2015-2016, pp. 6 (http://www.umass.edu/registrar/sites/default/files/academicregs.pdf):

“Intellectual honesty requires that students demonstrate their own learning during examinations and other academic exercises, and that other sources of information or knowledge be appropriately credited. Scholarship depends upon the reliability of information and reference in the work of others. Student work at the University may be analyzed for originality of content. Such analysis may be done electronically or by other means. Student work may also be included in a database for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarized content in future student submissions. No form of cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or facilitating dishonesty will be condoned in the University community.”

Student Use of Turnitin

Students using Turnitin to submit assignments for their Moodle course can review helpful resources created by the Instructional Media Lab.

Students using Turnitin to submit assignments for their Blackboard Learn course can review helpful resources created by the eLearning group at Continuing and Professional Education.

If you plan to use the Turnitin plagiarism prevention service for all assignments in your course, include this paragraph in your syllabus and review it during the first class meeting:

As a condition of continued enrollment in this course, you agree to submit all assignments to the Turnitin for textual comparison or originality review for the detection of possible plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included in the UMass Amherst dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin and will be used solely for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism during the grading process and during this term and in the future. Students who do not submit their papers electronically to the service will be required to submit copies of the cover page and first cited page of each source listed in the bibliography with the final paper in order to receive a grade on the assignment.

If you plan to use the Turnitin plagiarism prevention service for selected suspect assignments, include this paragraph in your syllabus and review it during the first class meeting:

Students should be aware that suspect assignments (e.g., those without drafts, without works cited pages, or with large departures in style) may be submitted to Turnitin by the instructor for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism. Submitted assignments will be included in the UMass Amherst dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin and will be used solely for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism during the grading process during this term and in the future. Students must provide an electronic copy of their assignment to the instructor for submission to the service when plagiarism is suspected, in order to receive a grade on the assignment and to avoid possible sanctions.

For account information, assistance with, or comments on Turnitin, contact: turnitin@umass.edu

For assistance with using Turnitin inside Moodle, instructors should contact Academic Computing’s Instructional Media Lab (545-2823 | instruct@umass.edu).  Students should contact the IT Help Center (413-545-9400).

For assistance with using Turnitin inside Blackboard Learn, instructors should contact the eLearning group at Continuing and Professional Education facline@cpe.umass.edu.  Students should contact the Blackboard 24/7 Help Desk.