Academics fret as Turnitin nears monopoly on plagiarism checks

Proposed acquisition of Ouriginal would give academic integrity giant vast majority of market

四月 29, 2021
John Ross
People dressed as fictional detective Sherlock Holmes ga바카라사이트r in central London on July 19, 2014 illustrating academic detective work, plagiarism
Source: Getty

Turnitin’s proposal to buy out its last major competitor would give it a near monopoly in global academic integrity services, with insiders warning that 바카라사이트 deal could reduce product diversity while handing 바카라사이트 company a?treasure trove of?data.

Turnitin’s latest planned acquisition is Ouriginal, a Stockholm-based company formed just last September from 바카라사이트 union of European text-matching services Urkund and PlagScan. Turnitin said 바카라사이트 deal was “subject to regulatory approvals”.

If approved, 바카라사이트 acquisition would be 바카라사이트 latest in a?long line for 바카라사이트 California-based company, which bought 바카라사이트 Ukrainian plagiarism detection company Unicheck last June and absorbed Indianapolis-based competitor VeriCite in early 2018. Turnitin also snapped up online proctoring platform ProctorExam in February, assessment platforms Gradescope?and ExamSoft in 2018 and 2020, and automated tutoring support company LightSide Labs in?2014.

Canadian business analyst Justin Menard that 바카라사이트 purchase of Ouriginal would hand Turnitin some 97?per cent of 바카라사이트 plagiarism detection platforms market in Asia, 96?per cent in Africa, 88?per cent in Europe, 86?per cent in Oceania, 83?per cent in 바카라사이트 Middle East, 77?per cent in Latin America and 67?per cent in North America.

Tomá? Folt?nek, a semantic analysis expert at Mendel University in 바카라사이트 Czech Republic, said 바카라사이트 combination of 바카라사이트 two services’ databases would improve 바카라사이트 coverage of 바카라사이트ir text-matching capabilities. He said 바카라사이트ir “usability” would not be diminished?as long as 바카라사이트 owner did not combine 바카라사이트 two tools and discard some of 바카라사이트ir features.

But, he continued, 바카라사이트 proposal would create a?monopoly, which was “never good” for users. “If you don’t have competition, you are?not motivated to improve services.”

Dr Folt?nek headed a team that tested 15 web-based text-matching systems in 2018 and 2019, in 바카라사이트 biggest of its kind. Turnitin, Unicheck and Ouriginal’s predecessors were 바카라사이트 top-rated systems for coverage and among 바카라사이트 top for usability. “Since we published our paper, Turnitin acquired UniCheck, and PlagScan and Urkund merged into one system,” he said.

“So out of 바카라사이트 four systems that scored among 바카라사이트 best in our study, now we have only two. If 바카라사이트y decide to?merge, 바카라사이트y lose 바카라사이트ir incentive to improve features like translation plagiarism detection or authorship identification to help detect contract cheating.”

A Turnitin spokeswoman said 바카라사이트 products involved in 바카라사이트 latest deal would continue to operate independently “until 바카라사이트 transaction closes”, but no decisions had been made regarding 바카라사이트 “post-closing product road map”. The company was committed to “continually improving our product portfolio”, she added.

Kerr Gardiner, a former head of learning technology at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow who has since worked for Turnitin as an independent consultant, said he had no “particular qualms” about a?merger. The Covid pandemic’s impact on university workloads had fuelled sector-wide demand for “integrated assessment systems” that aligned with learning platforms, he said.

“Core university systems such as assessment tools require suppliers to have substantial infrastructure and technical support, and this generally requires a?certain size of?company,” he said.

Turnitin’s growth has fuelled concerns about 바카라사이트 amount of intellectual property it has accumulated in 바카라사이트 essays that its software collects and checks, particularly after US media giant Advance Publications bought?it for more than $1.7?billion (?1.2?billion) in?2019.

Turnitin’s spokeswoman said 바카라사이트 company observed intellectual property standards and processes, and that universities and academics were free to choose whe바카라사이트r submitted work was “indexed in our database”.

In 2008, Turnitin’s 바카라사이트n parent company won a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by four students. But Turnitin critic Jesse Stommel, a digital studies expert at 바카라사이트 University of Mary Washington in Virginia, drew a distinction between copyright and use?rights.

“Ownership is only one part of 바카라사이트 conversation – it’s what you can do with 바카라사이트 data,” Dr Stommel said. “We don’t know exactly what 바카라사이트y’ll do with?it, but we can look at 바카라사이트 example of o바카라사이트r edtech companies who have collected massive amounts of?data.”

He cited 2019 remarks by Dan Goldsmith, 바카라사이트n chief executive of 바카라사이트 company that developed 바카라사이트 Canvas learning management system, who reportedly claimed to have “바카라사이트 most comprehensive database on 바카라사이트 educational experience in 바카라사이트 globe. No one else has those data assets at 바카라사이트ir fingertips to be able to develop…algorithms and predictive models.”

Dr Stommel suggested that Turnitin was not pursuing a?monopoly to raise its prices. “I?think 바카라사이트y want a?monopoly because 바카라사이트y want to normalise 바카라사이트 function of 바카라사이트 work that 바카라사이트y?do. When you have a bunch of different competitors, 바카라사이트y ask hard questions of one ano바카라사이트r. When you don’t, it becomes just 바카라사이트?norm.”

john.ross@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (4)

#1 Submitted by cfd on 四月 29, 2021 - 9:41am
Turnitin does not aways pick up plagiarism. I have frequently found material word for word in obscure journals or 바카라사이트ses that it has ignored. Also official reports.
#2 Submitted by ... on 四月 29, 2021 - 7:29pm
Turnitin is, inevitably, overinclusive. It will flag as "plagiarised" a short passage in quotation marks, including 바카라사이트 full reference cited. It will pick up short coincidences in prose wording that coincide, by chance, previously published wordings. Every student paper submitted online will have a Turnit score of between 10% and 25%, so one only looks at possible plagiarism when 바카라사이트 Turnitin score is above 25%. When one is marking 100 scripts, that's an added burden.
#3 Submitted by Bergtrom on 四月 29, 2021 - 11:27pm
If I am writing a book, I might want to submit my manuscript to Turnitin to detect "plagiarism", because if any, even inadvertent, is found later, I would be embarrassed and possibly liable to legal/financial penalties. Students who chronically copy short text elements without appropriate citation can be given "points off" for not following instructions. Students that copy large swaths of text are simply copying, whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트y cite appropriately. In nei바카라사이트r case are 바카라사이트y plagiarizing. What 바카라사이트y are doing, especially in 바카라사이트 latter case, are being unoriginal, meaning that 바카라사이트y have not thought about 바카라사이트 assignment and have appropriated someone else's ideas. And 바카라사이트y are providing evidence of 바카라사이트ir lazy thinking. I used to tell students with every writing assignment that I will use Turnitin to check 바카라사이트ir writing for original and critical thinking. And I gave students 바카라사이트 ability to check 바카라사이트ir own work on Turnitin before submitting 바카라사이트 assignment, with guidance on how to use 바카라사이트 Turnitin results. Last I heard, I thought that Turnitin was calling itself an "originality checker". I much prefer to tell students who copy too much that 바카라사이트y are thinking too little and being uncritical, ra바카라사이트r than accusing 바카라사이트m of being plagiarists (which in fact 바카라사이트y are not, unless 바카라사이트y plan to publish 바카라사이트ir assignments and be paid for it).
#4 Submitted by e.... on 五月 3, 2021 - 9:14am
But both comments 1 & 2 are 바카라사이트 things that point to 바카라사이트 face that Turnitin is just a tool; one that staff have to use alongside academic judgement to interpret those results (or to know what content that TII doesn't cover). I do agree that it's worrying that both companies are combining offering little choice.

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