How Is the Thesis Similarity Check Performed?
Graduation applications are completed within 5 business days after the online application is submitted. This process includes both a review of the graduation publication requirements and a check of the similarity rate (Similarity Report for Your Thesis Submitted to the Committee). You can track your application status and similarity rate through the system. If there is an issue with your similarity rate or your publications, you will be contacted via email.
If your graduation application has been approved and you have received a confirmation email, this means there is no issue with your similarity report.
The only thing our students need to do regarding similarity is to upload the PDF version of their thesis to the Turnitin system after following the instructions below. Theses that do not comply with the following requirements cannot undergo a similarity check.
Precautions to Take Before Uploading
- Theses must be submitted in PDF format and uploaded exactly once for each of the two statuses—"Thesis Submitted to the Committee" and "Thesis Accepted at the Defense Exam"—in the relevant section of the system corresponding to the appropriate graduation term, on the specified dates. Unless there is a situation requiring the thesis to be re-uploaded, it should not be re-uploaded. Do not upload a thesis if you are unsure. Uploaded files cannot be deleted.
- The PDF file name must be formatted as follows: "Student First Name Last Name - Department - Thesis Status."
- For theses in Turkish, the section before the Summary; for theses in English, the section before the Abstract; References; the section on publications derived from the thesis must be removed.
- For large theses, images (figures) must be removed. This applies to theses larger than 100 MB.
- For the thesis to be evaluated by the advisor and committee members as free of plagiarism, the similarity rate indicated in the report generated by the Plagiarism Detection Program must not exceed 15% if the evaluation is conducted “excluding citations,” it must not exceed 15%; if “including citations,” it must not exceed 20%. The similarity rate from a single source must not exceed 2%. Full responsibility for the similarity rate lies with the student and their advisor. Theses that do not meet these similarity rate requirements will not be accepted for the thesis defense. When calculating the similarity rate, any publications the student has authored related to the thesis are excluded.
PDF filename example:
- For the initial plagiarism check: "First Name Last Name - Business Administration - Thesis Presented to the Committee"
- For the final plagiarism check: "First Name Last Name - Department - Thesis Accepted at the Defense Exam"
For the guide on creating a Turnitin user account and uploading your thesis, see click here.
You can find the "Class Number" and "Class Registration Key" you’ll need to create an account in the emails titled "Regarding Your YTU Institute of Social Sciences Graduation Application" and "YTU,Your Graduation Application to the Institute of Social Sciences Has Been Approved by Your Advisor."
Question: I cannot view the assignment for the relevant term in the Turnitin system.
If you already have an account in the Turnitin system and need to upload an assignment to a newly opened class, you can access the class where your assignment is located by going to the “enroll in a class” section.
Question: How many times and when should plagiarism checks be performed?
Plagiarism checks are performed twice: once at the beginning and once at the end of the term. For information on when these checks should be performed, please review the Flowcharts and the Graduation Calendar.
Question: How do I find out if my thesis’s plagiarism rate is within the acceptable range?
If your thesis’s plagiarism rate is within the acceptable range, you will not receive a separate notification email or message. You can also view your similarity percentage and report through your account.
Question: When should I re-upload my thesis to the system?
If your thesis’s total similarity rate is 20% or higher, or if the use of a single source exceeds 2%, please make the necessary corrections to your thesis and re-upload it. If the institute has indicated that changes need to be made to your thesis, please re-upload it. Otherwise, do not re-upload it under any circumstances.
Question: After the plagiarism check, do I need to obtain the report and submit it anywhere?
No, there is no action required of our students at this point. The plagiarism check is conducted by our institute, and the report is submitted to the relevant official. However, before your advisor provides a statement on the system confirming that the similarity rate with other sources in your thesis is within the relevant limits, you may be asked to submit your plagiarism report. In this case, you can present the similarity report—which you can also view via Turnitin—to your advisor.
Question: Can I edit or use the report I view in the system?
No, the valid report is generated by the Institute. The section viewed by the student is for informational purposes only.
Question: What should I do if there is similarity with publications I produced as part of my thesis?
If, during the review of your similarity report, it is determined that your use of a single source exceeds 2% or the total similarity rate exceeds 20%, the Institute will verify whether these sources are publications produced from your thesis and remove them from the sources.