University of Basel

University Library

Plagiarism, in particular the inclusion of texts from other sources in academic works that are not marked as quotations, must be avoided, regardless of whether this is done deliberately or out of ignorance.
According to § 11e of the Student Regulations of the University of Basel and § 4 Paragraph 7a of the Regulation Relating to Academic Integrity, plagiarism is a disciplinary offence that will be punished accordingly.

Campus Licence

[Translate to English:] Turnitin Logo

The University of Basel has a campus licence for the plagiarism detection software Turnitin. This software enables all student assignments to be checked for matches with other texts (originality check). To achieve this, Turnitin uses millions of articles, websites and papers uploaded by students (only when approved by the institution) worldwide. The system compares sequences of words (including synonyms and translations). The results as regards content must then be evaluated by teaching staff or authorised specialists. Departments, lecturers and researchers at the University of Basel may request that an account be created via plagiarismus-ub@unibas.ch.

 

Alternatively, Turnitin can be used via the University of Basel’s Learning Management Platform ADAM. No Turnitin account is required for this. Lecturers (workspace administrators) can add the “Plagiatsprüfung" (“checking for plagiarism”) widget to an ADAM workspace. Students (workspace readers) can then upload their papers for an originality check. Instructions for lecturers and students may be found here (German only).

Tips

  • The "Plagiatsprüfung" widget is displayed in all ADAM workspaces created from fall semester 2022. In existing workspaces, it can be activated by sending a request to support-its@unibas.ch.
  • The ADAM widget "Plagiatsprüfung" creates accounts in Turnitin using the email address stored in ADAM. Turnitin accounts with email addresses other than @unibas.ch or @stud.unibas.ch will be deactivated.
  • Lecturers (i.e. workspace managers) cannot upload papers themselves directly, but can do so indirectly by inviting themselves as a reader in the workspace using a different email address.
  • Students must be registered as a workspace reader. They will see only the assessment results for their own work. Workspace contributors cannot upload papers and see the assessment results for all workspace participants.

For members of at the University of Basel, notably students whose work is not being assessed in a course, there is the option to do the assessment themselves in an ADAM workspace created specifically for this purpose. Join the Plagiarism check Self Check-in workspace and upload your paper. Use your mail @unibas.ch or @stud.unibas.ch. Otherwise, the account may be deleted without notice. You can have three files checked immediately and one per day thereafter. Instructions in ADAM (section "für Studierende", in German only).

Notes on re-uploading
You can upload several versions of the same document or upload several different documents. For subsequent submissions use the “Aufgaben-Dashboard”(“tasks dashboard”)under “Arbeit erneut übermitteln” (“submit again”; symbol arrow pointing up). After the third submission, you will need to wait 24 hours. Download the similarity report before uploading the next file.

The University Library provides guidance for members of the university on how to prevent plagiarism, i.a. in their courses and training sessions. In addition, courses for lecturers for the handling of Turnitin are offered periodically within the framework of the university’s continuing education programme for staff:

Uploading of third-party texts requires the permission of all authors.
Checked papers are stored on servers in the USA and comply with GDPR . Detailed declarations on data privacy, data security, and copyright protection by Turnitin.
Papers uploaded at the University of Basel are located in a special area called “institution paper repository” and are only used within the University of Basel for plagiarism checks, i.e. not by other institutions. In addition, “no repository” can be selected from the advanced options, which ensures that the uploaded papers will not be used as a source for future comparisons.

 

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