Turnitin Checker FAQs

Here you will find answers to some frequently asked questions about the Turnitin Checker on OneFile.

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How should I justify my similarity score to my assessor if it is high?

Some documents will return high scores for perfectly legitimate reasons. For example, if there is a significant amount of quoted and cited text. The Turnitin Similarity Report will highlight parts of your file that it has found matched sources for. Please use the freetext evidence field in your OneFile submission to explain why a high similarity score has been returned. The more clarity you provide to your assessor, the better judgement they can make on your evidence.

What should I do if I am submitting documents in OneFile that I have also used for my university assignments?

You are strongly encouraged to make sure that any documents submitted as part of university assignments are submitted to your university before you submit them as evidence in OneFile. It is perfectly legitimate for you to use work submitted to your university as evidence within your e-portfolio. You should run the Turnitin Checker on these documents when you submit them in OneFile. They are likely to receive high similarity scores because Turnitin will already have come across these documents via your university. In these cases, you should use the freetext evidence field in your OneFile submission to let your assessor know that this is work you have already submitted at university.

Should I run the Turnitin Checker on handwritten or scanned documents?

No. The Turnitin Checker can only check text that has either been saved as a document (such as a .doc or .docx file) or saved as a PDF from a document (e.g., a Word document you saved as PDF, or a PDF downloaded from a published journal).  Turnitin cannot run the checker against handwritten documents or documents you have scanned and saved as PDF files (e.g., a journal article scanned from the source).

I don't see a button to check Excel files. Can I run these through the checker?

No. Turnitin can only check documents (e.g., doc, docx, txt, pdf) and slideshow (e.g., ppt, pptx) files.

Should I run the Turnitin checker on assessment feedback forms and Multi-Source Feedback reports?

No. Turnitin only needs to be run on evidence submitted for training activities. You don’t need to run the Turnitin checker on workplace-based assessment feedback forms that are completed for DOPS, OCEs or CBDs, or for Multi-Source Feedback reports.

My document is taking longer than 24 hours to return a similarity score, is this normal?

In most cases, similarity scores are returned within 24 hours. Occasionally, if the Turnitin server is busy or if your file is especially long, this could take longer. If you have not received your similarity score within 72 hours of running the checker, please contact the NSHCS Servicedesk on nshcs.digital@hee.nhs.uk.

If I'm using the same evidence more than once, should I run it through the checker each time?

No. You should run the evidence through the checker the first time you use it in a submission. After the first time, your document will be stored in your OneFile personal evidence library, with the similarity score showing. You can then attach it from your personal evidence library to any subsequent submission.

Do I need to run the Turnitin Checker on all of my evidence submitted before the School signed up to Turnitin?

No. Only run the Turnitin Checker on evidence submitted from September 2022 onwards.

My department uses the 'Resubmit' feature on submissions to send drafts back and forth. When should I run the Turnitin Checker on this evidence?

Your evidence should be run through Turnitin on the final submission only. If your department routinely uses ‘Resubmission’ to iterate through drafts, please ask the assessor to send it back for resubmission one final time once they are happy with the evidence. At which point you can run your document through Turnitin and then send for signing off.

Last updated on 13th March 2024