Turnitin is a plagiarism detection tool that is commonly used by educators and institutions to identify instances of plagiarism in academic work. It works by comparing the content of a submitted paper to a database of sources, including published books, articles, and websites. If there are any matches, Turnitin will identify the percentage of the paper that is potentially plagiarized.
There are a few different ways that Turnitin calculates the plagiarism percentage for a given paper. The first is by comparing the submitted paper to the database of sources and identifying any text that matches. If a significant portion of the paper matches text in the database, Turnitin will assign a high plagiarism percentage to the paper.
The second way that Turnitin calculates the plagiarism percentage is by comparing the submitted paper to other papers that have been submitted to the database. If the submitted paper matches a significant portion of another paper, Turnitin will assign a high plagiarism percentage to the paper.
It is important to note that Turnitin is not always able to accurately identify instances of plagiarism. For example, if the submitted paper uses paraphrasing or quotation marks to credit the source, Turnitin may not recognize the text as being plagiarized. Additionally, if the submitted paper includes original research or ideas that are not found in any other sources, Turnitin may not assign a high plagiarism percentage to the paper, even if it is completely copied from another source.
Despite these limitations, Turnitin is still a useful tool for educators and institutions to help identify instances of plagiarism in academic work. By using Turnitin, educators can ensure that their students are engaging in honest and ethical academic practices, and institutions can maintain the integrity of their academic programs.
Ultimately, the plagiarism percentage assigned by Turnitin should be viewed as a tool for identifying potential instances of plagiarism, rather than as a definitive measure of a paper's originality. It is important for students to understand the importance of citing their sources and engaging in honest academic practices, regardless of the plagiarism percentage assigned by Turnitin.