What is Turnitin?
Turnitin is an online plagiarism detection service used by institutions to check submitted documents against the Turnitin database and the content of other websites to identify cases of plagiarism. A document is submitted to Turnitin processing, and Turnitin returns a report containing the likelihood that the contents of the document were copied from another source.
Using Turnitin with Student Learning & Licensure (SL&L)
When documents are submitted as part of an activity in SL&L, those documents can automatically be sent to Turnitin’s Similarity Checker. After processing, the document’s Similarity Score plagiarism report will be available to view within the SL&L activity. The report is viewable by the activity’s assessor and student.
NOTE: Student access is optional, and is determined when creating the activity template (See below)
Requirements:
To use Turnitin with SL&L, the following requirements must be met:
1. Your institution must have a Turnitin account.
2. Your institution must have the Turnitin Similarity feature enabled in the Turnitin account.
3. A Turnitin URL and API Key must be added to the Turnitin tab within SL&L.
Turnitin - Integration
To allow SL&L and Turnitin to “talk,” settings must be made within your SL&L administrator account. You’ll need two pieces of information to connect Turnitin and SL&L:
Turnitin URL: This URL is unique to each institution and is most often in the format of https://.turnitin.com
API Key: The API Key is a string of unique characters that Turnitin and SL&L use to authenticate their communication. The API key is provided by Turnitin and can be generated from the “Integrations” tab on the Turnitin Admin Console in the institution’s Turnitin account.
Configuring the Integration
The integration information is added to the SL&L settings through the Turnitin tab. To access the Settings, you must have a SL&L administrator account.
To configure the Turnitin settings within SL&L:
1. Log into you administrator account.
2. Click Settings in the navigation panel on the left side of the screen, then click Configuration Settings
3. Click Turnitin
4. Click the Edit button (pencil icon)
5. Enter your Turnitin URL and API Key.
6. Click the Test API connection link.
7. When the test is successful, click the ACTIVATE button.
NOTE: If the test is not successful, check your URL and API Keys, and test again.
Setting up Activity Templates for use with Turnitin
Turnitin Similarity within SL&L is used on a “per-template” basis. That is, Turnitin must be enabled for each activity template in which it will be used. Turnitin is enabled through a template’s Settings tab.
NOTE: The availability of Turnitin’s Similarity feature is determined by the template workflow type. Currently, only the following template workflows are available with Turnitin:
1. Standard workflow
2. Assisted Assessment workflow
3. Peer Review workflow (Peers will not see the Turnitin report)
4. Internship workflow
To enable Turnitin Similarity for an Activity Template:
1. Create a template, or click into an existing template.
2. Click the Settings tab.
3. Click the button next to Enable Turnitin Similarity Report.
4. From the Show Similarity score and report to students dropdown menu, select whether the submitter of the
document will be able to see the report.
5. When you’re finished, click the Save button.
6. Add a File Upload or Rich component to the template to so that a submitter can attach their document.
NOTE: All template components can always be added to a template. However, since Turnitin checks and reports on text-based files, only the File Upload and Rich components will submit to Turnitin.
Submitting Documents and Viewing the Similarity Report
Submitting to and assessing a Turnitin Similarity enabled activity is no different that any other activity in SL&L. However, when a student uploads a document to a Turnitin-enabled activity, the file will immediately be sent to and checked by Turnitin Similarity. Once the check is complete, the report can be viewed.
NOTE: The first time a student or assessor accesses an activity created with a Turnitin-enabled template, they will be prompted to accept the Turnitin End-User License Agreement. Once accepted, they will not be prompted again (unless Turnitin updates the agreement terms.)
NOTE: Files uploaded for Turnitin submission have both a size and file type requirement:
1. Files size must be 100 MB or less.
2. Files must be one of the following file types: .pdf, .doc, .ppt, .pps, .docx, .pptx, .ppsx, .xlsx, .xls, .ps, .rtf, .htm, .html,
wpd, .odt, .txt
To view the Turnitin Score and Report:
1. Once a file is uploaded, the file will be sent to Turnitin and the check will begin.
2. Click the Refresh Status button to see if the check is complete.
NOTE: The check process may take several minutes depending on file size, internet bandwidth, etc. However, the activity can be submitted without waiting for the Turnitin check to complete. The check will continue in the background.
3. Once the check is complete, the Similarity score will be shown along with a link to view the report.
4. Click the View Turnitin Report to open a new tab displaying the Similarity Report.