Academic integrity underpins all aspects of the academic enterprise, including teaching, learning and scholarship.
At UniSA Academic integrity means a commitment to act with honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, respect and responsibility in all academic work. Academic integrity is the foundation of university life and is fundamental to the reputation of the University and its staff and students.
UniSA is committed to fostering and preserving a culture of academic integrity in its teaching and scholarship, and developing students' academic integrity as part of their learning. A comprehensive policy framework guides academic assessment practices. At UniSA our approach to academic integrity, based on the Oxford Brookes (Carroll 2010) model, is governed by Section 9 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual. Section 9 outlines staff and student responsibilities in relation to academic integrity, and the procedures that will be followed in cases of suspected or determined academic misconduct.
The Academic Integrity Module developed by the Student Engagement Unit has been designed to help students understand Section 9 'Academic Integrity' in the UniSA Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual. We would encourage you to share this module with students early in their study program.
Turnitin and iThenticate are two tools that help promote students understanding of academic integrity.
Turnitin is an online tool that helps students’ understanding of academic integrity.
Turnitin can be accessed easily from within learnonline course sites. All UniSA students' text-based assignments are automatically submitted to Turnitin when uploaded from a learnonline course site and are compared with millions of other documents in the Turnitin database and on the internet. A colour-coded similarity report is generated which illustrates any matched text. This is called an 'originality report'. Every document submitted is then stored in the Turnitin database for comparison with future assignment submissions.
Short instructive videos are available for both students and staff to understand Turnitin's originality reports:
The Teaching Innovation Unit has developed two Online Teaching and Learning Guides aimed at staff: Navigating a Turnitin® Similarity Report and Interpreting a Turnitin® Similarity Report.
Staff may request access from the IT Help Desk to the Turnitin for non course submissions site in order to submit student documents for comparison by Turnitin without entering the document into the Turnitin database. (Staff and postgraduate research students wishing to review drafts of their own research work for inadvertent plagiarism should use the iThenticate tool.)
iThenticate is an online tool from the same company that provides Turnitin and which is especially designed for academic researchers and research students. It can be used to check your own writing to prevent inadvertent plagiarism and can also be used to help develop the quality of HDR student’s writing and also the development of their own writing ‘voice’.
To use iThenticate you need to be registered, and an account can be established by emailing a request to iThenticate@unisa.edu.au from your UniSA email account.
Documents or segments of writing are easily submitted to the system and are then compared with millions of other documents in both the various iThenticate databases and also the internet (these are more comprehensive than those used by Turnitin.) Like Turnitin, iThenticate generates a colour-coded similarity report showing any matched text and where the original can be found. This report is usually generated within a few minutes of submission. Unlike Turnitin, submitted documents are NOT stored in the iThenticate database for comparison with future submissions. This means that documents are not compared with earlier versions of themselves and, therefore, that iThenticate can be used more easily in a developmental way.
Many supervisors report that iThenticate offers a good way of working with their research students on their writing.
If you want to know more about iThenticate a learnonline/Moodle resource site has been developed. This includes sections on accessing and using iThenticate, interpreting reports, FAQs and, for those wanting more complete understanding, the full iThenticate user manual. The iThenticate website also contains useful information, but remember to register through iThenticate@unisa.edu.au before trying to log in so that you are not prompted to ‘buy credits’ which you do not need!
Please only request an account if you are studying for a PhD, other doctorate or a Master of Research degree. By the terms of our license, we are unable to set up accounts for students on coursework programs.
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has developed a number of useful resources for staff and students around understanding academic integrity, including how to identify, avoid and report illegal cheating services.
Teaching Innovation Unit
Email: TIU-Academic-Integrity@unisa.edu.au