Reducing student anxiety about plagiarism prevention software through game based simulations

This presentation describes an intervention designed to reduce anxieties which some postgraduate research (PGR) students were reported to be experiencing following the introduction of a requirement to submit their final theses for Turnitin analysis. Such anxiety is often associated with misunderstandings and misconceptions about plagiarism regulations and the role of software such as Turnitin. (Bensal, Miraflores, & Tan, 2013)

A card game, adapted from Moseley (2010), was devised as a simulation of the process examiners follow in interpreting a Turnitin originality report, allowing students to experience making some of the typical judgements that examiners must make. This demonstration of how examiners are required to study the report in detail rather than allowing the software to make a pass/fail decision challenges the underlying misconceptions, and can prompt students to re-evaluate their perception of Turnitin.