Reply #19: Just used it for my dissertation

[drlindaphd]

I just completed my dissertation and it along with most of the papers I wrote for my doctoral program were all run through turnitin. I did not see it as an insinuation of guilt of plagiarism or accusation that I had intentionally copied the work of others. The report that was returned is called an "Originality Report". It is quite picky. The requirement for my dissertation was that I have a score of less than 10%. Some of the phases that it picked up were just common usage like "doctor-patient relationship. I remember it flagged "planes flying into buildings" in one paper I wrote.

I did not take offense at the requirement to turn my work in to turnitin. It was interesting to see some of the flags that came up. Some of them as you can see were so minor and were common usage. Some were other student papers, including my own. I was never accused of plagiarism. There was never any nasty attitude on the part of the school or professors. It was a tool to improve my writing.

I would imagine that if the originality score was very high, or if paragraphs were lifted from other documents, the author might be questioned regarding the effort they had put into the work. I did have one incident when a classmate turned in my work as her own and the professor did not need turnitin to spot the plagiarism. Fortunately, he knew that it was my original work and that she had copied it and took the proper steps.

Plagiarism is a very real problem. As a victim, I can tell you it is very disturbing to have your work stolen. As a user of turnitin, I can tell you, it was not a big deal. There is no accusation of plagiarism. Many times plagiarism is unintentional. Most of the flags were from items that I had never read or even heard of. Unless you are intentionally coping the work of other people, I would not worry about it. As far as turnitin making money from this, everyone is making money from something. We all have to eat, live, and support ourselves. You will have to make money, too. Your compensation is your degree. Just like your professors are making money from your work. It is the same process.