How Universities Use Turnitin, Urkund, and Other Detection Tools

Introduction

For many Indian PhD scholars, the term “Turnitin” appears only at the final stage of thesis submission — often with anxiety and confusion. Whether you’re pursuing your doctorate from a private university in Noida or a state university in Maharashtra, the submission checklist now includes a mandatory plagiarism check using software tools like Turnitin, Urkund (now known as Ouriginal), or other institutional systems. These tools are no longer optional or symbolic — they are an integral part of how your thesis is evaluated.

The problem is, many scholars don’t really know how these systems work, what they detect, and how universities interpret the reports. As a result, a lot of panic, last-minute revisions, and even delays happen — not because students have plagiarised intentionally, but because they didn’t understand how to prepare for the check.

Understanding how universities actually use these tools — and how scholars can respond to the reports — is key to completing your PhD with confidence and academic clarity.

What These Tools Do — and Don’t Do

Turnitin, Urkund, and similar detection tools are not plagiarism detectors in the moral sense. They are similarity checkers. They scan your thesis against a vast database of:

• Published journal articles
• Web content
• Student theses submitted globally
• Institutional repositories
• E-books and open-access content

They highlight portions of your document that match existing content. This includes direct quotations, paraphrased text, and even commonly used phrases in academic writing. Based on the percentage of matched content, the system generates a similarity report.

But it’s important to understand what the software doesn’t do:

• It doesn’t decide whether you plagiarised — that’s for humans to assess.
• It doesn’t know if the matched content is properly cited.
• It doesn’t measure originality of thought — only textual similarity.

In Indian universities, this leads to many misconceptions. For example, a scholar sees a 22% similarity and panics, thinking their thesis will be rejected. But depending on where the matches occur and how they’re cited, the work may be perfectly acceptable.

How Indian Universities Interpret Similarity Reports

Most Indian institutions now follow UGC’s 2018 guidelines on academic integrity, which set thresholds for acceptable similarity levels:

• Up to 10%: Acceptable
• 10–40%: Requires revision
• Above 40%: Considered serious; may lead to rejection or disciplinary action

However, the application of these rules varies by university. In private institutions, some departments may be flexible if the similarities come mostly from citations, references, or standard methodology language. In others, scholars are expected to reduce even well-cited overlap below 15%.

Here’s how the process typically works:

1. Thesis Submission for Similarity Check: You or your department uploads your thesis to the software portal.
2. Report Generation: A detailed similarity report is produced, often within minutes.
3. Supervisor Review: Your guide or department head reviews the report to interpret which parts are problematic.
4. Resubmission or Clearance: Based on feedback, you may be asked to revise sections and reduce the similarity, or your thesis may be cleared for final submission.

The key is this: not all similarity is plagiarism. If your literature review has some overlap due to definitions or cited content, that’s often acceptable. What reviewers look for is whether you’ve mindlessly copied — or if your thesis shows your voice and understanding.

Common Triggers That Increase Similarity — and How to Avoid Them

Many Indian scholars end up with high similarity reports due to avoidable habits. These include:

• Copying definitions or theoretical explanations from journal articles without paraphrasing.
• Reusing content from your own conference papers or earlier dissertations without citation (self-plagiarism).
• Including long quotes without using quotation marks.
• Using material from sample theses shared by seniors.

Also, using AI paraphrasing tools can sometimes increase similarity. They often retain sentence structure or repeat typical academic phrases that match other documents.

Instead, focus on reducing risk by:

• Paraphrasing with understanding, not just word replacement.
• Citing every idea that is not originally yours — even if rewritten.
• Using your own language for explanations, especially in background sections.
• Discussing interpretation or comparison, not just listing past studies.

Many Indian universities now encourage scholars to run their drafts through similarity tools before final submission. This helps identify risky areas early — and gives time to revise without last-minute stress.

Beyond the Percentage: Why Your Voice Still Matters

One of the biggest myths among PhD scholars is that getting a similarity percentage below 10% means their thesis is perfect. In reality, a low percentage does not guarantee quality — and a slightly higher percentage doesn’t always mean trouble.

For example, a thesis with 14% similarity, all properly cited and logically integrated, will be valued more than one with 5% similarity but weak writing and no originality. Reviewers, especially in the viva, want to see your thinking. They want to know how you read, interpreted, and responded to existing research — not how many lines you avoided copying.

In the Indian context, where English is often a second language, your effort to write honestly matters more than perfectly crafted academic sentences. Universities increasingly understand this. But what they don’t accept is dishonesty — whether through careless copying or blind dependence on rewriting software.

Conclusion

Plagiarism detection tools like Turnitin and Urkund have become standard parts of the Indian PhD submission process. They are not your enemy — but they demand awareness. Understanding what these tools do, how universities interpret the results, and how to prepare your thesis accordingly can save you stress, delays, and doubts about your work.

At the heart of it, these tools exist to protect academic honesty — not to punish sincere scholars. If your thesis reflects real reading, thoughtful engagement, and your original voice, no software can diminish its value. Similarity may be measured in numbers. But scholarship is measured in intent — and that still matters most.