Referencing & Plagiarism
Information for academic staff
The Library and the Learning Technology Team have developed a set of resources to help your students learn how to avoid committing plagiarism through understanding the process of academic writing, including how to reference. These resources are available 'off the shelf' in a staff-only Blackboard Learn module, for you to use and adapt. We also offer help and support to you when embarking on explicitly teaching your students these valuable skills.
For further information and help please contact Monique Ritchie or your Subject Liaison Librarian.
Plagiarism detection service Turnitin
Brunel University is registered with the online JISC Service Turnitin (http://www.jiscpas.ac.uk/turnitinuk.php) where, in an effort to identify plagiarism, students' papers are submitted electronically and then compared against:
- previously submitted material held in the database
- over 1.8 billion web sites
- essays from cheat sites
- selected subscription services
The service compares the student's work with the other sources and produces an originality report. This report highlights where matches have been found in the text and indicates the sources of the match. Reports are colour coded to indicate the percentage of text matched. The report is non judgmental in that it does not distinguish between properly referenced and acknowledged quotations and unacknowledged information sources.
Using Turnitin at Brunel University
Academic judgment is still required to determine whether plagiarism has occurred therefore Turnitin is only available to academic staff at Brunel University. It is possible to add and manage an assignment in Blackboard Learn that is checked via Turnitin.
The service is based in the UK and is accessed via standard web browsers. For guidance on using the Turnitin submission service and to obtain the account ID and password, please contact Liz Racz in the Quality & Standards Office.
Turnitin documentation: Please note that there are data protection and copyright issues as submissions are held on a Turnitin database. Links to plagiarism resources, advice on academic plagiarism and Turnitin documentation are available from PlagiarismAdvice.org.
