What does the Similarity Index percentage indicate?īlue indicates no text has been matched. Individual matches need to be investigated by opening the student’s paper and viewing the match overview and breakdown panel. The percentage will vary depending on the type and length of assignment and the requirements of the work involved. Students’ work is bound to contain some words from other sources. There is no ideal percentage to look for. Even a 1% score could potentially be plagiarised. This ‘at a glance’ guide should not be used as a measure of plagiarism. This shows the total amount of matched text as a proportion of the assignment. Turnitin guide: Setting reasonable expectations for the Turnitin Similarity Score How to interpret the Similarity Report The Similarity Index percentageĪn overall percentage score (with colour code) is shown next to a student’s name under the Similarity column in the Assignment Inbox. The similarity report is best used in conjunction with other methods to prevent and detect plagiarism and as part of a co-ordinated approach to maintaining the academic integrity of students’ written work. Deter students from plagiarising and encourage good academic practice.Ensure a level of equality and parity when checking the similarity of students’ work against the vast range of possible online sources.Identify collusion between students on their course and potentially from other institutions who use Turnitin in the UK.

Help students as a formative learning tool around referencing.Check that online sources in an assignment have been properly cited and the text has not simply been copied without appropriate referencing.

The similarity report is an effective way to: This guide describes what a similarity report shows and how to interpret matches highlighted on a student’s assignment submitted to Turnitin.

Turnitin originality report