Mainz University Library supports the teaching faculty of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in maintaining the academic integrity of written assessed work. Two software systems are currently licensed for this purpose, which enable a fully automated text comparison of suspicious term papers and theses. This check is carried out by the Academic Integrity Team at the University Library.
These FAQs summarize the most important information on the use of plagiarism software (Turnitin iThenticate and PlagAware) at JGU. They reflect the position of the Competence Center for Academic Integrity and are primarily aimed at teaching faculty. The aim is to provide clear and practical orientation. Alignment with local policies, examination regulations, and procedures remains necessary.
The plagiarism check is a service offered in cases of concrete suspicion. It does not replace a professional assessment, but provides additional orientation. Decisions as to whether or not deception has occurred remain with the competent authorities.
1. Purpose, scope, and pilot nature
The plagiarism check is a service offered by the Competence Center for Academic Integrity for lecturers. It serves to ensure scientific integrity in written assessed work and supports the classification of suspected cases. It is neither a substitute for specialist reading nor for assessment by lecturers or committees.
No. They are used exclusively on a case-by-case basis.
The plagiarism software is currently being used as part of a pilot phase. The aim is to gain experience with the procedure and to further develop the service if necessary. Feedback from lecturers is expressly welcome and is incorporated into the evaluation by the Competence Center for Academic Integrity.
2. Legal basis
A plagiarism check is permissible if, upon initial review of an examination submission, specific irregularities are identified and there is reasonable suspicion of academic dishonesty. The JGU examination regulations allow a technology-assisted review in these cases.
No. The determining requirement is that it be set out in the examination regulations and approved through a standing decision of the examination committees.
The competence center does not make any examination-related decisions. Responsibilities, deadlines and formal steps are set out in the local examination regulations and procedural rules. The examination boards have opened up the possibility of having texts checked electronically in case of suspicion. In the event of a concrete suspicion of cheating, it is strongly recommended that the responsible examination office be closely involved at an early stage in order to ensure a legally secure procedure.
3. Data protection and anonymization
Yes, in strict compliance with data protection regulations. The review may only be carried out with completely anonymized or pseudonymized texts. There is no long-term storage of the data and texts within the plagiarism detection software used.
The documents submitted must not contain any personal data that would allow identification.
Anonymization checklist:
- No name of the student (not even in headers or footers)
- No matriculation number (also no pseudonym that can be derived from it)
- No personal data of caregivers
- No indirectly identifying biographical data
- Removal of personal metadata (author, comments, etc.)
Original texts are deleted after the service provider has completed the check (after three months at the latest).
Test reports will be kept internally at the Competence Center for Academic Integrity until the end of the pilot phase (February 2027) for statistical purposes.
4. Organization and procedure
The examination is carried out exclusively by employees of the Competence Center for Academic Integrity of the University Library. Teachers do not have direct access to the system.
- Determination and documentation of reasonable suspicion
- Contacting the Competence Center for Academic Integrity
- Transfer of the completely anonymized file
- Carrying out the software test
- Personal consultation to explain the results
The similarity check only takes a few minutes. The entire process is based on the workload of the competence center. The aim is to process your request within approx. three working days.
- Document your ground for suspicion ("prima facie evidence")
- Use the test report as additional evidence
- Create a synopsis of the suspicious locations (can be based on the test report)
- Urgent recommendation: Coordinate further steps with the Examination Office
- Give the examinee the opportunity to submit a statement
Note: The competence center provides advisory support in assessing the findings but does not determine whether academic dishonesty has occurred.
The determination of whether deception has occurred, and any resulting consequences, is made in accordance with examination law. Please consult the guidelines for dealing with cheating and discuss this with the relevant examination office.
5. Technical framework conditions
Two systems will be licensed for the pilot period, both of which enable fully automatic text synchronization: Turnitin iThenticate and PlagAware. Sources of comparison are freely accessible data from the Internet as well as scientific literature from publishers and repositories.
Further information can be found on the providers' websites:
Turnitin iThenticate – https://guides.ithenticate.com/hc/en-us
PlagAware – https://www.plagaware.com/de/service/fragen
Supported file types:
DOC/DOCX, PDF, TXT, RTF, HTML, PPT/PPTX, XLS/XLSX, ODT, WPD, PostScript
Pages with graphics or diagrams are automatically removed before the check (text-only scan).
Scanned documents must first be converted into searchable text using OCR. A manual correction of the converted document is highly recommended to fix any issues that may have arisen during conversion. iThenticate supports only PDFs produced with Microsoft Word or Adobe software. Please contact us if you have any questions.
- Maximum file size: 100 MB
- Maximum number of pages: approx. 800 pages (PlagAware approx. 500 pages)
- Minimum scope: 20 words
- No detection of structural, translation or idea plagiarism
- No reliable recognition of paraphrases
- No legally secure proof of deception
6. Interpretation of the results
The similarity score shows which parts of the text are identical to external sources. It does not make any statement as to whether these excerpts are properly cited or academically valid.
No. High agreement values can result from correctly cited passages, standard formulations or method sections, among other things. The academic assessment always rests with the examiner.
No. The responsibility for assessment and decision-making lies entirely with the teachers and the relevant committees.