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Clemson University Graduate School

Plagiarism

What Is Plagiarism?

All research depends to some extent on the work of others who have come before you. Other researchers’ ideas and results are often the starting point of your own work, but it is important to properly acknowledge the work of others to avoid one of the most serious forms of academic misconduct: plagiarism.

The Clemson University Academic Integrity Policy (located in the Undergraduate Catalog) says plagiarism “includes the copying of language, structure or ideas of another and attributing the work to one’s own efforts.” The definition makes no distinction between deliberately using someone else’s work without attribution and doing so unintentionally; both are plagiarism.

iThenticate Review of ETD Manuscripts

The possibility of plagiarism in an ETD submitted for graduation is a serious issue that can have serious consequences.  For this reason, all ETD manuscripts submitted to the Graduate School will be evaluated for plagiarism using a tool called iThenticate as part of the manuscript review process.  iThenticate is an anti-plagiarism application that seeks to ensure submitted manuscripts represent original work and follow proper citation practices.

iThenticate analyzes the text of a document and looks for potential matches against an extensive repository of sources; including published journals, online content, and databases like Proquest.  iThenticate is a sophisticated tool that looks for both exact matches and minimal adjustments that would not constitute original work.  A similarity report is generated that is evaluated by the manuscript reviewer.  There is no set threshold for what is considered plagiarism, and each match is evaluated for context, and every situation is unique. When a potential case of plagiarism is identified, the student’s adviser is alerted, and they will decide what should be done about it.

This process is not designed to hold any student back from graduation and simply seeks to ensure all published ETDs are free of controversy.  Please contact the manuscript review desk with any questions: manuscriptreview-l@clemson.edu

iThenticate Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why Is the Graduate School Using iThenticate?

    iThenticate is a respected tool widely used in higher education to meet the needs of researchers and authors who want to ensure their written work does not contain un-cited material that could be seen as plagiarism, including unintended, honest mistakes. 

    In our continued efforts to maintain and promote academic integrity, we are using iThenticate, which is software that compares submitted documents against an extensive database of academic and professional sources.  Its primary purpose is to ensure the originality of scholarly work and protect the academic reputation of our institution and its students. Our intention is not to impose suspicion but rather to provide an objective evaluation of your work that will benefit both you and Clemson University.

  • How is iThenticate Being Used?

    All doctoral dissertations will be evaluated using iThenticate when they are submitted to the Graduate School for publication.  The iThenticate process will be done when you submit the final version to Clemson OPEN or during the early check period.  We will review the iThenticate report and, if there are potentially problematic similarities to other material, we will forward the report to your advisor for further review.

  • Will My Dissertation Be Stored Securely?

    Yes. All dissertations are stored in a password-protected folder with 2-factor authentication that only the manuscript reviewer has access to.

  • How Does iThenticate Check for Plagiarism?

    iThenticate generates a Similarity Report by comparing a submitted document against its extensive database of scholarly publications, websites, and other sources. It highlights text that matches these sources, providing a similarity score (percentage) and detailed reports for review.

  • Is There a Threshold for What Is or Is Not Considered Plagiarism by the Graduate School?

    Every case is different, and each match is evaluated for context.  Typically, similarity scores below 15% are considered to have passed the check and do not require further evaluation.  Higher scores are subject to more scrutiny but are not necessarily considered plagiarism.  If the student is also an author on the matching source, the match is disregarded.  There may be other reasons for the similarity. For example, if part of your methods section is flagged because you described a particular lab test, that’s probably because there aren’t many ways to describe that test. Every match is evaluated to possibly find an explanation that may justify it.

  • What Happens if My Dissertation is Flagged for Possible Plagiarism?

    If there are potentially problematic similarities to other material, the report will be forwarded to your advisor for further review.  The Graduate School will not be specifying what action, if any, the advisor will take; that will be entirely up to the advisor and committee.

  • What is the Early iThenticate Check for Dissertations?

    A notice will be sent out early in your final semester offering the option to submit a substantially complete draft of your dissertation for an early iThenticate Check.  Your dissertation will pass through iThenticate during this early check, or when you submit the final version, but the early check gives you time to correct any potential problems before the final submission is due.  The submission will be done through a secure Box folder and is not the same as your final submission to Clemson OPEN.

  • Is the Early iThenticate Check Mandatory?

    No, it is entirely optional.  You do not have to submit for the early check if you don’t want to.  An early check gives you time to correct any potential issues that may arise, but it is not required.  You can wait for the final deadline to submit your dissertation to Clemson OPEN, and it will go through the iThenticate check at that point.

  • If I submit for the Early iThenticate Check, will my Dissertation be flagged for Plagiarism against itself if it is checked again during the Final Submission Process?

    No. Your dissertation is only checked once, either during the early check or after your final submission to Clemson OPEN, but not both times.  iThenticate does check against previously submitted work, but if your current submission is flagged against your previous submission, the flag is ignored. 

  • Can I check my Dissertation myself using iThenticate before submitting it to the Graduate School?

    While you can’t use iThenticate itself, the Graduate School does offer access to Turnitin. Turnitin is basically the same service offered by the same provider, and the only difference is that Turnitin is meant for class assignments, while iThenticate is meant for research to be published. iThenticate and Turnitin use the same databases and check documents the same way.

    You can self-enroll in the Canvas course, GRAD 360° Turnitin for Graduate Researchers. A new course section is offered each semester, so be sure to click on the course for the current semester.

    https://clemson.instructure.com/search/all_courses?search=grad+360

    The assignments of the course allow you to submit your document to Turnitin and generate a similarity report.

Common Types of Plagiarism

Some forms of plagiarism include:

  • Directly reproducing or paraphrasing someone else’s work (published or unpublished), including insights and opinions, without attribution, regardless of length.
  • Failing to clearly identify quoted material by using quotation marks (for short sections) or blocked text.
  • Directly quoting your own text from previous projects or papers without attribution.

Plagiarism also includes using someone else’s ideas, art, figures, tables, maps, charts, diagrams and so forth, even if you recreate or reformat the material.

An exception is made for material that is common knowledge. If information is readily available from general reference sources in your field, or if the information appears undocumented in several sources, it may be common knowledge. Whether material is common knowledge is often a judgment call, and if you are in doubt, you should err on the side of caution. In no case should you ever copy text of any kind and appropriate it as your own.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Because plagiarism is such a serious breach of academic integrity and has very serious consequences, you should reference the list below.

  • Consult your advisor if you have any doubt about whether a part of your thesis or dissertation constitutes plagiarism.
  • Always err on the side of caution.
  • Become very familiar with the various kinds of plagiarism by reading articles or websites on the subject.
  • Never copy other sources while researching without attributing the material and marking it in some way to remind you later that it is in fact someone else’s work and will need attribution if it is included in your finished paper. If you’re taking notes, mark parts of the notes that are paraphrases of another person’s writing
  • As you proofread each section of your paper, devote at least one reading to carefully checking sources, looking for paraphrasing that is not attributed and other forms of accidental plagiarism.
  • If you are at the thesis or dissertation stage of your program, check out the opportunity to self-enroll in the Canvas course, GRAD 360° Turnitin for Graduate Researchers (a new course section is offered each semester). The GRAD 360° professional development team set up this non-graded “course” to allow you to use a leading anti-plagiarism tool to check your citations as you write and complete your ETD.

Helpful Links About Plagiarism

Clemson University plagiarism resources:

Purdue University plagiarism resources: