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iThenticate

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What is iThenticate?

iThenticate is a text similarity checking tool that compares written documents against millions of published works, subscription databases, and web pages.


• Why is Brown using iThenticate?

iThenticate is a respected tool widely used in higher education to meet the needs of researchers and authors who want to ensure their written work does not contain un-cited material that could be seen as plagiarism, including unintended, honest mistakes.

Several publishers and funding agencies require plagiarism reports to accompany manuscript submissions; faculty members have asked Brown to provide access to a tool like iThenticate for this reason. Adopting iThenticate is a way for the University to support researchers and writers, and to empower members of our community by providing tools for avoiding unintentional plagiarism. 

iThenticate is owned by iParadigm, the company that owns TurnItIn, which is also used at Brown.


• Is this a trial period?

Brown is making iThenticate available for optional use during a pilot phase. Feedback will serve a critical role as the University evaluates iThenticate. Please consider providing feedback.


• What is the difference between iThenticate and Turnitin?

Turnitin and iThenticate check against the same databases, but these services are designed for different categories of users. While Turnitin is designed to meet the needs of instructors and students in completing class assignments and homework, iThenticate is a text-matching service for researchers and authors to ensure that any work they intend to publish does not contain unintentionally un-cited material. 

Instructors can find information about using Turnitin at Brown here


• What is plagiarism? What should I do if I have a concern about plagiarism? 

Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. For more information, view the Library’s Plagiarism libguide, or the Office of Research Integrity's plagiarism resources

Refer to the Office of Research Integrity if you have concerns about plagiarism or research misconduct.


• Who can I contact with questions about the intended uses of iThenticate at Brown?

Please direct questions about Brown’s policy on iThenticate to Cristine Hutchison-Jones, Director of Special Projects, Office of the Provost.


• Can anyone access the unpublished documents I upload to my iThenticate account?

No. The unpublished documents you upload into iThenticate are only accessible in your account and are NOT accessible to iThenticate or Brown University administrators. Uploaded documents are not stored in a database and deletions are final, no copies are kept on file.


• Can I compare two unpublished documents that I upload into my iThenticate account?

Yes. iThenticate’s doc-to-doc comparison allows you to upload one primary document to compare against a maximum of five comparison documents. Any files that you upload to doc-to-doc comparison will not be indexed and will not be searchable against any future submissions. Visit iThenticate’s doc-to-doc support page for more information.


• What happens to my uploaded documents if the Brown iThenticate license is not renewed?

You will be notified and will have the option to download your PDF reports. Any remaining uploaded documents in your account will be deleted at the time the Brown iThenticate license is terminated.


• Does iThenticate search in any languages besides English?

Brown’s iThenticate account will use English as the default setting. Individual users can set their own accounts to a different language. iThenticate supports English, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Japanese, and Korean. iThenticate will compare documents of the same language during its text matching search. 


•Is there a maximum size for uploaded documents?

The total upload size must not exceed 200MB. Each file must be 100MB or less and must contain at least 20 words of text. The maximum paper length is 800 pages. Zip files must not exceed 200MB or contain more than 100 files.


• What types of file formats will iThenticate accept for scanning?

Microsoft Word (DOC and DOCX), Word XML, Plain Text (TXT), Adobe PostScript, Portable Document Format (PDF) created by Adobe or Microsoft Word only, HTML, Corel WordPerfect (WPD), and Rich Text Format (RTF)


• What materials does iThenticate compare to my uploaded document?

iThenticate’s web crawler actively archives websites and holds over 90+ billion current and removed webpages in its database. Through partnerships with leading content publishers, it has a collection of over 170 million articles from library databases, publishers, digital reference collections, subscription-based publications, and books. Theses and dissertations via ProQuest are also included for iThenticate and Crossref Similarity Check users. 

Crossref & Crossref Posted Content

The Crossref repository is a collection of published scholarly works and the Crossref Posted Content collection of scholarly works that have been submitted but not yet published. Both are available to search submissions against through our exclusive partnership with Crossref.

Documents submitted by users at Brown are not indexed by iThenticate.

If multiple users at Brown were to upload the same unpublished document, iThenticate would NOT detect a match.


• Need more help?

The iThenticate guide site contains many useful articles. You can also reach out to your Brown University Library for additional help.  Submit a question, feedback, or request through the Library’s iThenticate support request form