Turnitin is an originality-checking and plagiarism-prevention service that checks writing for citation mistakes or inappropriate copying. When a paper is submitted, Turnitin compares it to text in its massive database of student work, websites, books, articles, etc.
Teachers decide whether their students will use Turnitin for their assignments. If a teacher doesn't utilize Turnitin, students are not required to use it. Students can not ask to use Turnitin on their own.
In this guide, there are both instructions for students and for teachers on how to use Turnitin.
Plagiarism and the stipulated penalties are subject to the Icelandic Copyright Act No. 73/1972. The Copyright Act applies to original works considered published when copies of a work with proper permission from the author are offered for sale, loan, or rent or are distributed in some quantity to the public via other means.
RU emphasizes high-quality scholarly work and integrity, as in RU codes and rules.
RU Project Work Codes of Conduct requires students to respect copyright and that all projects submitted by a student shall be their original work, and that each submitted project shall be unique. Whether within a course, between courses, or between study programs, all reuse of projects is not permitted unless otherwise noted.
The 8th paragraph of the RU code of ethics states: "We respect intellectual property rights, do not take credit for the work of others, and always cite the sources we use in accordance with accepted scientific practices."
RU Study and examination rules affirm the emphasis on respect for copyright: "Reykjavik University requires that your projects be your original work. This means that the work you do is your own from beginning to end without assistance from others, and you never copy others' text or work and present it as your own. References shall always be cited, and rules on working with references also apply to copying a student's own work.
Each submitted project shall be unique. All reuse of projects, whether within a course, between courses, or between study programs, is not permitted unless otherwise noted."
The university uses Turnitin plagiarism detection software, which enables users to spot plagiarism and/or wrong references and citing of sources.
