Similarity reports and academic integrity
The following article provides guidance on accessing and interpreting Turnitin similarly reports.
Academic integrity for students
For Academic Integrity resources that support students, please visit the Student Learning Zone.
Interpreting the similarity report
The similarity report gives a Similarity Index, which indicates the amount or the percentage of text in the submitted assignment matches other documents in the Turnitin database. It is important to note that:
- The Similarity Index is not a measure of plagiarism.
- Turnitin cannot make any judgements about whether academic practice has been followed for the identified matched-text. It is up to teachers and students to interpret the report.
- Matches from coversheets, reference lists and from common strings of words can inflate the Similarity Index.
- Turnitin can pick up similarity even if a student has correctly paraphrased and/or quoted and referenced their sources accurately.
- You cannot go on the percentage figure alone.
This video for staff explains how to interpret a Turnitin similarity report:
Avoid giving students a 'safe' score/percentage. Students can prioritise reducing their score instead of addressing assessment requirements, following disciplinary writing conventions, and ensuring that sources are used correctly.
For more details on the requirements of text-matching software within SCU, see Southern Cross University Text Matching Software Policy. For more details on what to do if you suspect plagiarism, see the Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules and Academic Integrity Procedures.