iThenticate – Plagiarism Detection U-M pilot introduction

What is iThenticateTM? Plagiarism (noun) The act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person. ~ Merriam-Webster dictionary iThenticateTM - online application for plagiarism detection / evaluation Compares uploaded documentation to source materials Output - a report that: Rates the similarity of the text Lists and links to matching source materials Highlights textual matches

Background & History Proposal by UMOR, Michigan Medicine (UMMS), LSA & CoE to purchase an Ann Arbor campus-wide license (Oct. 2016) Cost-share model approved at RADs mtg. License purchased by UMOR in Nov. 2016 3-year pilot (through Oct. 2019) ~7,400 accounts for faculty No accounts for emeriti, students, trainees or staff

School/College/Institute Participation LSI Medical School Music Natural Resources Nursing Pharmacy Public Policy Public Health Social Work University Library UMOR Units Art & Design Architecture & Urban Planning Business School Dentistry Education Engineering Information ISR Kinesiology Law LSA

Institutional Support Model: Central-/Self-Service Hybrid Central support: UMOR – “primary account administrator” Faculty accounts Initially - load accounts based on list of faculty from HR system Ongoing - process requests for new accounts Reporting (**at the end of each calendar year**) Runs usage reports by School/College Sends reports to School/College RAD (or their designee) as FYI during pilot Maintains U-M’s Plagiarism Detection webpage for centralized access point http://research-compliance.umich.edu/research-integrity/plagiarism-detection

Institutional Support Model: Central-/Self-Service Hybrid Self-Service Support Faculty member: Accesses training modules on iThenticate web site as needed Creates and maintains their own folders Submits their documents for plagiarism check Interprets results themselves knowing that iThenticate not infallible (i.e., limited access to rare books, etc) Cannot view folders of others

Key Points iThenticate is a self-service tool for faculty use Training materials, including webinars, are provided by iThenticate Training is optional, but recommended, because certain settings (e.g., text string length) can greatly affect the results of a plagiarism scan Schools/Colleges responsible for supporting faculty use of iThenticate UMOR maintains the site license and administers accounts

Institutional Support Model: Central-/Self-Service Hybrid School/College/Institute Support Set school/college expectations for faculty use of iThenticate Modify school/college policies and procedures, as necessary Advertise iThenticate availability to faculty during the pilot Implement school/college-based “help” for faculty use of iThenticate

Pilot Evaluation After 3 years U-M will evaluate usage and decide whether to continue the subscription license.