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. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A score of 0%. This indicates the submission does not match any sources in the Turnitin repository. This is concerning because academic writing entails drawing upon others’ work. It is also expected that there are some matches to other assignments (at SCU and other institutions). It is likely a 0% is the result of using similarity checking settings that are too broad (E.g., excluding resources in Search options), and therefore will not identify matched-text/ paraphrasing. 
  • A score over 60%. It is unlikely that a student's submission will share more than 60% of its text with another source unless something is amiss. This is the case even with shorter tasks answering the same question and using a cover sheet. It might mean the student submitted their draft to another Turnitin link and their submission is matching to an earlier draft, or it is possible a high percentage is an indicator of collusion or contract cheating. To investigate, drill down into match sources (contained in the Match Overview). 

In either instance, the score itself is only an indication that something may be amiss. Further investigation is required.

No.  

Turnitin does not use a colour-code system to indicate problem sections in the similarity report, Turnitin uses a colour-coding and numbering system to indicate where it found matched-text in its repository. Each highlighted section's colour coding and numbering correlate with a source listed in the Match Overview list. 

No.  

The similarity score is an indication of the percentage of the entire submission that matches sources held in the Turnitin repository. The same score could indicate an assignment with no issues or an assignment with significant instances of academic misconduct. Therefore, the key is to scan highlighted sections in the report to check whether students are practising academic integrity. 

No.  

Instead, educate your students about how Turnitin works and how to use this software as a learning tool. Remind students that not all matched-text is problematic and that they need to focus on double-checking highlighted sections where they have used sources. The idea is that students submit a good version of their assignment for similarity checking, make changes, and submit their final version. See Setting up a Turnitin Assignment for more tips. 

Ignore the request.  

Do not allow other institutions to access student assignments. However, reply to internal (SCU) requests if you are the unit assessor for the unit.