Unicheck Plagiarism Detection...Unicheck – Plagiarism Detection Unicheck is a tool built into...

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Center for Teaching and Learning

Unicheck – Plagiarism Detection Unicheck is a tool built into EduCat that allows you to detect suspected plagiarism. A similarity report is generated that shows percent matches and compares text to sources (both online and other student submissions). The report is modifiable to include or exclude citations and quotations. Unicheck can be used on Assignments, Discussion Forums, and Workshops. Keep in mind, there is NO magic number regarding matching percentage. 1. To Create an Assignment using

Unicheck, log into EduCat. Click into your course, and

Turn Editing On.

This example is for Assignments, but you can also use Unicheck

with Discussion Forums and Workshops.

2. Scroll to the section where you

want the assignment to be displayed. Click on Add an

activity or resource.

Or click on Edit Settings on an

existing assignment.

3. Choose Assignment from the

list, then Click Add.

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4. Fill in the requested information (fields marked

with a are required). Give

the assignment a name and, if

desired, a description (decide if you want the description to

display on the course page by checking the box).

5. Make the setting selections

you wish for Availability, Submission Type, Groups,

and others; then Click on the Rotating Triangle to view

the expanded menu for selecting the Unicheck

plagiarism plugin settings.

6. As the settings indicate you MUST have the Submission

Settings set to Require students to click submit

button = Yes. This forces a student to submit the

assignment (which is NOT the default, so you may have to give further instruction to students), but

does indicate to Unicheck that the assignment is ready to be evaluated. Scroll up to the Submission Settings, Click on the Rotating

Triangle to change the setting to Yes.

7. Back to the Unicheck plagiarism plugin settings, choose the appropriate settings desired. It is recommended you use the following

settings (you may edit as desired): Choose Yes to enable

Unicheck Choose Yes to check

already delivered assignment submissions if

you are editing the settings and already have

submissions Choose Yes to add

submission to the

Institutional Library (this builds up our NMU specific repository)

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Choose Internet+Library to have the submissions

compared to both our NMU repository and Unicheck’s

internet sources You can exclude sources

with matches less than a desired percent or words

Choose No to Exclude references and Citations

(you can manipulate this later in the report)

Choose Yes to show

similarity scores to students

Choose Yes to show similarity reports to

students – you can use this as a learning experience for students to see their results and learn

from mistakes Choose No to notify students via email

If you are using zipped files, change the maximum number of files to your desired amount.

8. Once you have selected the desired settings, Click Save

and return to course.

This creates the link for students to submit their assignment and have Unicheck scan for plagiarism.

Unicheck accepts files from 30 to 125,000 words (over 450 pages) and up to 70MB. Accepted file types include:

.pdf .pages

Google docs from Google Drive .htm, .html

.xls .ppt, .pptx

.doc, .docx, .dotx, .dot .csv

.txt, .rft

.zip and more.

The next steps are to View and Interpret the Similarity Report.

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9. To view and intrepret the report once students have

completed the assignment, click on the assignment link.

The submission button for students triggers Unicheck to

evaluate the submission. So assignments will be checked

as they are submitted (not as drafts).

10. On the grading summary,

choose to either View all submissions or Grade.

Grade will allow you to see each student’s submission

individually, while viewing all the submissions will allow you

to see the whole class results. This example shows the View

all Submissions option.

11. Scroll down to the student

submissions and over to the right, you can see the

percentage of suspected match and a button for reviewing the

full report.

12. Once you click on Report, a

color-coded report with options

for matches, quotes, and exclusions will then show. The

title of the document submitted, student name, and time/date

submitted will be displayed. The percent matched will also be

presented.

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13. If you click on highlighted text

you can compare the source to the text. The report will indicate

the match source – Internet (the Unicheck repository of online and

database sources) or Library (the NMU specific repository of

previously submitted student work). You may also see a family of sources that match the text if that

text is on more than one internet site. Alternately, you may click on a source and see the text that is suspected of matching in darker

highlighting.

14. To get more detail on the source, Click on the source

address in the right hand panel. You can Compare (a side by side

window will open), View Source (the matching website will open

in a new tab), or Exclude (not count this source in the matching

percentage).

15. If the submitted text matches in

the NMU Library to another student submission, the details

will be hidden for privacy reason.

There are steps that Unicheck administrators can take if it is

necessary to get more details, but a match is usually enough

information.

16. To manipulate the report you

can use the Exclusions or Quotes tabs. You can exclude

specific passages (for example, a common repeated block of text,

group submissions, drafts, etc.) or not count quotes in the

matching percentage.

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17. If you Click on the Exclusions tab you can review the sections

and sources excluded. You may also choose to Include the

source again.

18. The report also allows for comments, additonal options, and

a map that provides more information.

19. You can provide students feedback right within the report.

Click on Comments in the upper right corner. You will then be

prompted to enter comments for that specific section. Close

comments when done.

20. Also in the upper right corner

you have Options. You may review exclusions, download the

original file, export the report, view details, get guides and other

options.

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21. The MiniMap on the left side gives you a page-by-page color-

coded percentage break down of the suspected plagiarism. The

key at the bottom includes Matches (Orange), Quotes

(Blue), References (Purple), and Replacements (Red).

Replacements are text modifications that are similar

characters but in a different language, white text, special

symbols or fonts, or layered text.

REMEMBER: Unicheck is one tool that can be used to assist instructors in identifying potential plagiarism. It is a text matching tool. Matching text

in the Unicheck repository (that does not go behind pay walls) and the NMU Library. Student work MUST be examined carefully before

determining whether plagiarism has occurred. The is NO magic number or specific threshold for a ‘plagiarized’ submission – each must be reviewed,

regardless of the score.

Unicheck Plagiarism Detection...Unicheck – Plagiarism Detection Unicheck is a tool built into...

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