Topic outline
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Is iThenticate the same as Turnitin?
iThenticate and Turnitin are similar but designed for different categories of user. iThenticate is designed for researchers at all stages of their careers (including Masters by Research and PhD candidates) and draws on a broader set of sources (including grey literature) to check work against. Turnitin is designed for use by students on taught or coursework programs and their tutors .
One very big difference between the two resources is that iThenticate does not add your manuscript to any databases. Any submissions you make are archived privately until you choose to delete them.
Who should use iThenticate?
Our licence allows any member of UniSA's staff or any Doctoral or Masters by Research candidates to use the system.
Will I be charged a fee for using iThenticate?
As long as you are using the account with the login details provided by UniSA you will not be charged for using iThenticate as UniSA has bought a license for its research degree candidates and staff.
When should research degree candidates use iThenticate as part of their higher degree by research?
Research degree candidates studying for a PhD or a Masters by Research should, as a minimum:
- put their draft research proposal through iThenticate before finalising it for submission to their Academic Unit and,
- put a penultimate draft of their thesis through iThenticate prior to finalising it for submission for examination
Can I summit a paper I am co-authoring through iThenticate?
Yes you can submit a paper you're co-authoring to iThenticate. If you do, it is good practice to inform the other author(s) that you are doing this and also what the outcome was.
How do I start using iThenticate?Your first step is to request creation of a personal iThenticate account. Do this by emailing iThenticate@unisa.edu.au saying that you would like an iThenticate account establishing.
What data bases does iThenticate check submissions against?
- CrossCheck
An initiative of the publisher association CrossRef, CrossCheck is a database populated with content (journal articles, conference proceedings and books) provided by publishers (1,500+ leading scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishers). As of 2013, 65% of CrossRef publishers participate in CrossCheck, representing most large scholarly publishers. An increasing percentage of scholarly journals is using iThenticate to check manuscripts submitted for publication.
- Internet archive
iParadigms’s proprietary Internet crawler is archived back nearly a decade.
- Aggregators, databases, content providers
Over 90 million online and offline subscription content and research titles from leading aggregators, databases and content providers, including: ABC-CLIO, Cengage Learning, EBSCOhost, Emerald Journals, Gale InfoTrac, One File, Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Wiley, PubMed/Medline, SAGE Reference.
- PQDT
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) is a research database that includes theses and dissertations from more than 1,000 North American and European graduate schools.
Who else out there uses iThenticate?
Many major universities across the world, including many in Australia, provide iThenticate for the use of their staff and research degree candidates.
It is worth noting that iThenticate is now used by many of the major journals to check submissions for plagiarism before they are sent out for refereeing so it is well-worth using it before you submit a paper for consideration. If you want to check, Here is the list of the journal publishers using iThenticate in this way.
What types of file does iThenticate work with?
iThenticate currently works with:
- Microsoft Word® (DOC and DOCX) •
- Word XML
- Plain Text (TXT)
- Adobe PostScript®
- Portable Document Format (PDF) created with Adobe or Microsoft Word
- HTML
- Corel WordPerfect® (WPD)
- Rich Text Format (RTF)
Can various versions of a document be submitted to iThenticate over time?
A revision of a previously uploaded manuscript can be uploaded and checked again, to a maximum of five times.You may choose to submit a substantially revised manuscript as a new submission. There is no bar on submitting documents as new submissions on each occasion you make adjustments.
I sometimes review papers for journals. Can I use iThenticate to check manuscripts that I am reviewing?
No, iThenticate is intended for use by authors to check their own work.
Where can I get more help?Documentation and training materials are available on the iThenticate website: http://www.ithenticate.com/resources/customer-training/
You can contact iThenticate@unisa.edu.au for technical support.
To find out more about iThenticate or suggest changes or additions to this FAQ, please email iThenticate@unisa.edu.au .