Turnitin flagged your PRISMA flow diagram as incomplete because the exclusion reasons listed in the table don’t line up with the numbers you reported in the text, and the formatting doesn’t follow the exact layout the rubric expects. To clear the flag you need to (1) match every count in the diagram to a corresponding reason, (2) label the reasons exactly as the protocol does, and (3) rewrite the table in a plain‑text style that avoids copying large blocks from the original source.
What terminology does my instructor actually want in the PRISMA flow diagram?
When you opened the assignment sheet you probably saw the phrase “PRISMA 2020 flow diagram” and a list of required columns: Records identified, Records screened, Records excluded, Full‑text articles assessed, Full‑text articles excluded, Studies included. The rubric circles the words “exclusion reason” and “numeric total” – those are the exact terms your TA will be checking.
Most community‑college research methods courses adopt the same language as the official PRISMA checklist. That means you must list each reason for exclusion in the “Full‑text articles excluded” row, using the same wording the protocol uses (e.g., “Wrong study design,” “Population not relevant,” “Insufficient outcome data”). If the protocol groups reasons under broader headings, keep those headings; do not invent new categories.
In practice, a grader scans for three things: a) a total count that adds up correctly, b) a matching set of reasons that appear in the methods narrative, and c) the exact phrase “Exclusion reason” in the table header. Missing any of those triggers the “incomplete” flag in Turnitin because the system flags mismatched numbers as potential plagiarism or incomplete citation.
One common mistake is to write “Not peer‑reviewed” when the protocol says “Non‑peer‑reviewed source.” The difference looks tiny, but the rubric treats it as a mismatch and the similarity engine flags the whole block. Keep the language verbatim; copy‑paste the phrase from the protocol into your table, then adjust the numbers.
How can I align the numbers and exclusion reasons without creating another similarity hit?
First, pull the exact counts from your systematic search log. If you identified 312 records in the database, 212 after duplicates, 78 after title/abstract screening, and 12 full‑text articles, write those numbers in the left column exactly as they appear in your methods paragraph. Then, for each excluded full‑text article, write the reason and the count in the right column.
Here’s a step‑by‑step way to avoid copying large text blocks:
- Open a fresh spreadsheet. In column A, type the PRISMA stage headings (e.g., “Records identified”). In column B, type the numeric total.
- In column C, list the exclusion reasons exactly as they appear in the protocol. Use a separate row for each reason.
- Sum the counts in column D with a simple formula (e.g., =SUM(D2:D5)). Verify that the total matches the number you wrote in the narrative.
- Copy the finished table into Word, then use “Paste Special → Unformatted Text” to strip any hidden formatting that Turnitin might flag as copied source code.
- Finally, add a brief caption below the table: “Figure 1. PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for the systematic review.” The caption itself should be original prose, not lifted from any source.
When you paste the table, make sure the font is Times New Roman, 12‑pt, and the line spacing is single. The PRISMA guidelines do not require a fancy box; a clean, plain‑text table satisfies most graders and reduces the chance that Turnitin thinks you’ve duplicated a published diagram.
Will fixing the table raise my Turnitin similarity score?
Turnitin looks for strings of text that appear elsewhere. A PRISMA diagram is mostly numbers and short phrases, so the similarity index usually stays low—unless you copy the entire diagram from a published article. By recreating the table in your own document and using the “unformatted text” paste, you break the exact character sequence that the detector matches.
“I thought the numbers were the problem, but the real issue was that I had pasted the whole figure from a journal PDF. After I rebuilt it from scratch, my similarity dropped from 27 % to 4 %.” – a transfer student in a health‑sciences program
Two safeguards keep the similarity score down:
- Replace any long explanatory sentences with your own summary. For example, instead of copying “Studies were excluded because they did not report mortality outcomes,” write “We excluded studies lacking mortality data.”
- Limit the use of direct quotations to the exact exclusion reason phrase. Anything beyond that should be paraphrased.
Critical warning: Do not reuse the exact table layout from the protocol PDF. Even if the numbers are yours, the visual arrangement can trigger a match. Re‑type the table manually.
What’s a realistic plan to get the PRISMA diagram right tonight?
If your deadline is tomorrow, break the task into three short work blocks. Each block focuses on one of the pain layers, so you won’t feel overwhelmed.
- 30 minutes – Terminology check. Open the original protocol, highlight every exclusion phrase, and copy it into a plain‑text note. Verify that you have exactly the same spelling and punctuation.
- 45 minutes – Technical rebuild. Use the spreadsheet method described earlier. Enter the numbers, add the reasons, and generate the total. Export the table as plain text and paste it into your Word file.
- 30 minutes – Integrity sweep. Run a quick Turnitin preview on the draft (many campuses let you submit a “draft” version). If the similarity score is above 10 %, locate the highlighted sections and rewrite them in your own words.
After the three blocks, give yourself a 10‑minute break, then read the entire methods section aloud. Hearing the words helps you spot any mismatch between the narrative and the diagram. If everything adds up, you can submit with confidence.
Quick checklist for a clean PRISMA flow diagram
| Checklist item | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Exact headings | Use “Records identified,” “Records screened,” “Records excluded,” “Full‑text articles assessed,” “Full‑text articles excluded,” “Studies included.” |
| Numeric totals | Sum of each stage matches the narrative count; no off‑by‑one errors. |
| Exclusion reasons | Copy verbatim from protocol; each reason has its own row with a count. |
| Formatting | Plain‑text table, Times New Roman 12‑pt, single‑spaced, caption below the table. |
| Similarity check | Run a draft Turnitin report; similarity < 10 % for the diagram section. |
Run through this list before you hit “Submit.” If every row checks out, the “incomplete” flag should disappear, and you’ll avoid a surprise similarity spike. When the next assignment asks for a PRISMA diagram, you’ll already have a reusable template that meets both the rubric and Turnitin’s expectations.