Similarity Detection (Turnitin)

As of 29/1/2024, it will be mandatory to include the Turnitin similarity report of the thesis file when applying for the deposit. To get this report, before the online deposit, the doctoral student must request access for Turnitin by loggin with the personal user ID NIU@uab and UAB password. More information on how to access can be found at this link (information in Spanish). 

The access for Turnitin will be approved the Monday following the application date*. To set your account, Turnitin will send an email to your UAB institutional email address. You can receive this email up to 24 hours after the approval. If you cannot find this email in your inbox, please check the spam.

*In case your request is sent on a non-working Monday, the activation period is moved to the next business day.

 For any questions, please contact ed.antiplagi@uab.cat.

Once you get your Turnitin report (including the percentage of similarities and the matching text highlighted in colours), you must attach it at the time of submitting the online deposit (document 44). You must also attach this affidavit document, where you can indicate, if any, the reasons for the similarities detected (document 45). Please read the frequently asked questions for more information about the possible interpretations of the resulting percentages.

Below you will find a set of resources to help you learn more about this software:

• Recording of the informative session (11/07/2024 - Spanish)
• Slides of the session
• PhD students User's guide

You can also find support guideliness on Turnitin's website.

Turnitin FAQ

• How do I access Turnitin for the first time?
  You will be able to access Turnitin after sending the Turnitin registration request and once having received an invitation email to your UAB institutional email. The subject of the email will be You have been enrolled ia a Turnitin class by your instructor, and the sender will be Turnitin No Reply <noreply@turnitin.com>. These emails will be sent by Turniting each working Monday.
• I have not received the invitation email. What should I do?
  Remember that this message is sent to your UAB institutional email address the Monday following the date on which you sent the registration form. You can also check your spam. In case you still cannot find it, please let us know by sending an email to ed.antiplagi@uab.cat.
• I have not received the email to manage my password. What should I do?
  Remember that your Turnitin username is your institutional email address in the format name.surname@uab.cat or name.surname@autonoma.cat. DO NOT USE THE FORMAT NIU@UAB.CAT. if you were sent the invitation email by Turnitin more than 15 days ago, the link may have expired. Please send an email to ed.antiplagi@uab.cat so it can be reactivated.
• Which email address should I use to access Turnitin once registered?
  To access Turnitin you need to receive an invitation email where the steps to generate your password will be explained (see section How do I access Turnitin for the first time?). Whether you are a doctoral student, a thesis supervisor or a programme coordinator, you need to access Turnitin with your UAB institutional email address: name.surname@uab.cat or name.surname@autonoma.cat (never with the format NIU@uab.cat). In case you are experiencing any problems with your institutional email address, please contact cas@uab.cat.
• If I'm an external thesis director with no UAB institutional email address, how can I access?
  If you are an external thesis director without a UAB institutional email address, please contact directora.doctorat@uab.cat.
• What documents can I validate with Turnitin?
  You can use the similarity detection programme for everything related to your thesis and your research line.

• How long do I have access to Turnitin?
  Until the moment you make the deposit of the thesis.

• What is the UAB criterion to know if there is plagiarism in a thesis? Is it determined from a percentage X?
  Generally speaking, the Turnitin programme only detects similarities in your report, which is not the same as detecting the degree of originality of the thesis. To establish the degree of originality of the text, an interpretation of the report must be made, based not only on the % of similarity, but also considering the type of similarities found and whether the sources are from the same author or not.
  This percentage and the interpretation of the types of similarity will change significantly depending on the area of ​​knowledge of the thesis and depending on whether the results of the thesis are already published or not. For example, for theses in experimental knowledge areas, it is normal to find similarities in the description of the methods used, since many times they are already established. Or naturally, if some publications have been derived from the thesis, it is normal that there are also similarities between the thesis and these works.
  For this reason, neither the Permanent Board nor the Doctoral School have established any percentage of similarity that defines whether or not a work is original. It is the thesis supervisor/academic tutor, in the thesis deposit acceptance report, who will decide whether, taking into account the percentage and type of similarity found, the thesis is validated as original. It will be the thesis supervisor/academic tutor who, in the text of his report, can justify, if he/she deems it necessary, the validation of the thesis as an original text.

• The problem is that various chapters or parts of my thesis are published (or are in the online repository), so the programme detects a high similarity level in these chapters. Is it considered plagiarism?
  This can happen and if, as in this case, the author of the published works corresponds to the author of the thesis, it is evident that the percentage of similarity due to these coincidences does not affect the originality of the manuscript.

• For the bibliography, the programme usually reports a high level of similarity. How can I exclude this from the total % of similarity?
  For this situation it is foreseen that a filter can be applied that excludes the bibliography. The screenshot below shows how this filter can be activated: Go to the icon represented by a funnel, and activate the options to exclude bibliography and exclude citations. Activating this filter will also reduce the similarity percentage.
  
• For frequent combinations of words, the programme usually reports a high level of similarity. How can I exclude this from the total % of similarity?
  In this case, a filter by number of words or % of text can also be applied in order to avoid the similarities of combinations of words frequently used in your text.

           

• As far as my thesis is concerned, as a PhD student, how should I justify this level of similarity (similarities due to publication of articles, etc.)?
  In the affidavit document you must include the reasons for the similarities detected. And the thesis supervisor/academic tutor of the thesis is the one who will validate the originality of the manuscript and who, if he considers it appropriate, will justify and validate the degree of similarity in his report.