Overview

iThenticate compares submitted documents against the World Wide Web and world’s largest scholarly comparison database to help authors, publishers and organizations ensure that the content within a document is original and sourced correctly.

Similarity Index

To begin, find the document you want to view in your iThenticate folders.

similarity-index-plagiarismYou will see a number that shows the Similarity Index of the document. By clicking on the Similarity Index, you will be taken to a series of reports on this document.

At the top of the homepage you will see the Similarity Index. This number shows what percentage of content from your submitted document matches content in the iThenticate database. The Similarity Index provides a high-level glimpse into the amount of matched content in a document. It is best used to provide an indicator of papers that contain a high-level of duplicate content and that need a closer look. However, the Similarity Index alone cannot determine whether or not the document contains misconduct.

Underneath the Similarity Index, you will see three controls that provide users more control over the information they inspect when reviewing a document.  Users can “Exclude Quotes” from the iThenticate Reports; Exclude Bibliography and Exclude Small Matches. Notice when I “Exclude Bibliography” how the Similarity Index Changes.

Four Types of Reports

iThenticate contains four main reports.

  1. Similarity Report shows you the most relevant matches.four-plagiarism-reports
  2. Content Tracking Report shows all relevant matches.
  3. Summary Report provides an overview of matched content and sources.
  4. Largest Matches Report shows the largest portion of matching strings of text.

Within these reports, users can view texts in a side-by-side comparison. Sources are number coded and color-coded. You can pull the text into view by selecting the numbered source that you would like to see. To view the matching content, click on the highlighted text within the submitted document.

Once clicked, the source material will be displayed to the right of the submitted document from the matching database source. You can scroll through multiple matches with the next match arrows. To remove any matches that are not of interest you can also select the x.

How to Use Each Report

SIMILARITY REPORT

The similarity report will show you what our algorithm has determined to be the “most relevant” matches.  Matches are displayed from highest to lowest amounts of matched text. You will see that all areas of the uploaded manuscript that match one or more sources in iThenticate’s databases are highlighted. This report will give you a good indication of whether the paper contains significant sections of duplicated text.

CONTENT TRACKING REPORT

The content tracking report lists all the matches between the iThenticate database and the submitted document. Since iThenticate updates its database regularly it may have many matches from the same source. The sources that are the same will specify when they were copied from the Internet.

SUMMARY REPORT

The summary report displays a clear overview of matched sources, which is printable and downloadable so that you may share the results. This is a good report to share with colleagues or peers who want a high-level report on a given document.

LARGEST MATCHES REPORT

The largest matches report shows the largest blocks of matching text. The Largest Matches reports will often closely resemble the results from the Similarity Report. However, results can very depending on the nature of the sources.

Thanks for taking time to watch this demonstration of iThenticate Reports. To learn more, visit ithenticate.com.

Additional Resources

Also read CrossCheck Plagiarism Screening: Understanding the Similarity Score by Kirsty Meddings of CrossRef.