Turnitin Similarity and AI Detection Reports and PeerMark

When Turnitin features are enabled during assignment creation, Turnitin creates an Originality report for every submission. This report includes a Similarity score to indicate suspected plagiarism, as well as a separate report with an AI score, indicating a percentage of content that is suspected of being created by AI. There is no way to disable the AI detection report when Turnitin is enabled.

Neither of these scores should be accepted as the single indicator of either plagiarism or use of generative AI. Turnitin will highlight the sections of the submission that are suspected of being AI generated. However, please keep in mind that some writing styles, for example technical or scientific writing, may be flagged as generated by AI. Turnitin reports a less than 1% false positive rate (see their white paper for details). Information about the AI-detection process is available in a white paper developed by Turnitin.

Instructors need to consider the threshold score for AI generated content that they want to investigate further. Turnitin only reports a score at all if the detector finds AI use in 20 percent of the document or more. False positives (when a student’s submission is flagged as being written but no AI was used) are very rare but can have a negative impact on student success and their academic record. For that reason, the Turnitin report should be considered in concert with other concerns. These can include a drastically different writing style from past assignments, “hallucinations” or other hallmarks of typical AI-generated content, content that is above course level, or a submission that is peripheral to but does not fulfill the assignment. Importantly, instructors must offer students a consultative resolution meeting to discuss their concerns before they submit an academic dishonesty case. This conversation should include discussion of the content of the assignment. Students should be able to talk about material they created.

The following document provides some tips for identifying AI-generated content.

To help prevent academic integrity violations for suspected use of generative AI, a syllabus statement is helpful. Please check with your department for departmental language. However, if there is no specific statement available, sample statements have been developed by the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. Be sure to include a link to the student-facing AI page on the Academic Integrity website.

AI Statement for Graduate Syllabi

AI Statement for Undergraduate Syllabi

If you suspect that generative AI has been used in an assignment but need more guidance, please see the Academic Integrity Process page on the Academic Integrity website.

1. On the assignment edit page, click Evaluation & Feedback.
2. Click Manage Turnitin.
3. Click Enable Similarity Report for this folder.
4. Click Allow learners to see similarity scores in their submission folder under Display if you want students to see their similarity scores.
5. Click Automatic similarity checking on all submissions or Identify individual submissions for similarity checking under Submissions Checked to set which submissions generate a report.
6. Click More Options.
7. Select Standard paper repository or Do not store the submitted papers from the Submit papers to drop-down menu.
   • Standard paper repository allows future submissions to be compared to current submissions.
   • Consider using Do not store the submitted papers for assignments when students are submitting multiple drafts.
8. Under Compare against, select the types of content you want to use to compare the submission.
9. If you are providing a template to students, click Upload Template under Exclude assignment template and add the template.
10. Click Submit to save More Options.
11. Click Save to save Turnitin settings.
12. Click Save and Close to save the changes to the assignment.

1. On the navbar, click Assessments and select Assignments.
2. Click the name of the assignment.
3. Click the Turnitin percentage icon under the Turnitin Similarity Report column. A new tab will open.
4. To view the full AI report, click the AI score icon. A new tab will open.

Turnitin’s PeerMark tool enables instructors to create peer-review assignments, allowing students to read, review and evaluate their classmates’ submissions. Key features include anonymity options, customizable questions and libraries.

1. Navigate to the module where you would like to add a PeerMark assignment.
2. Click Existing Activities and select Feedback Studio – PeerMark. You will see a link to the PeerMark assignment at the bottom of the module's content.

Once you create the Peermark tool link, you can set up a Peermark assignment, develop questions and read and grade peer reviews.

The following are links to documentation on the PeerMark support site.

Leann McArthur, Turnitin's Customer Success Manager for UB, provides free support for instructors who are using Turnitin Similarity Report and PeerMark. Some short topics offered in one-on-one or group sessions include:

• Maximizing the use of the time-saving tools in Turnitin
• Interpreting the Turnitin Similarity Report to formatively develop student writing
• Working with the AI indicator in a nuanced and thoughtful fashion
• Developing effective PeerMark assignments