Can Turnitin be used to provide instant formative feedback?

Abstract

New students face the challenge of making a smooth transition between school and university, and with regards to academic practice, there are often gaps between student expectations and university requirements. This study supports the use of the plagiarism detection service Turnitin to give students instant feedback on essays to help improve academic literacy.A student cohort (n = 76) submitted draft essays to Turnitin and received instruction on how to interpret the 'originality report' themselves for feedback. The impact of this self-service approach was analysed by comparing the writing quality and incidence of plagiarism in draft and final essays, and comparing the results to a previous cohort (n = 80) who had not used Turnitin formatively. Student and staff perceptions were explored by interview and questionnaire.Using Turnitin formatively was viewed positively by staff and students, and although the incidence of plagiarism did not reduce because of a worsening of referencing and citation skills, the approach encouraged students to develop their writing.To conclude, students were positive of their experience of using Turnitin. Further work is required to understand how to use the self-service approach more effectively to improve referencing and citation, and narrow the gap between student expectations and university standards.

Is plagiarism changing over time? A 10-year time-lag study with three points of measurement

“…Such software can be used formatively, allowing students to check their work for improper or inadequate referencing before submission (Rolfe, 2011). Moreover, it increases the ability of academics to detect plagiarism and apply penalties for rule breaches.…”

“…These surveys used an anonymous self-report measure where students reported their understanding of various forms of plagiarism, the extent to which they considered these forms of plagiarism to be serious, and the extent of their engagement in these forms of plagiarism. Turnitin®, can reduce plagiarism rates via a formative-educational impact (Rolfe, 2011) and through a deterrent-enforcement impact (Batane, 2010). Second, in 2008, WSU began the phased introduction of mandatory criteria and standards based assessment, which provides students with clear expectations regarding assessment requirements (Thompson, 2013).…”

An Analysis of the Effect of Mobile Learning on Lebanese Higher Education

“…Turnitin is one such application, which may made freely available to instructors by their institution. Turnitin may even be used formatively, so that students improve their working habits and receive reinforcement for best practices with respect to course policies on plagiarism (Barrett & Malcolm, 2006;Rolfe, 2011), which may in turn reduce or even remove the need for the tool for the purposes of plagiarism detection (Chew, Ding, & Rowell, 2013). A number of tools have been developed specifically for computer science courses by addressing the unique challenges of examining code, see e.g.…”

The Effect of Computer Technology on Learning in a Multilinguistic Language Class

“…In addition, feedback is infinitely more valuable when it is delivered as soon as possible. Rolfe (2011) found the use of Turnitin to be extremely valuable in terms of literacy development. Turnitin highlights the areas that require rewriting and it may be a useful tool in motivating learners to improve their literacy skills.…”