Online Plagiarism Tools -- Do They Work?

If you have ever been a student or a teacher, you know how big of a deal plagiarism can be. But school isn’t the only place where plagiarism matters. In creative, professional, and academic settings, plagiarism can have serious consequences for the perpetrator. Online plagiarism tools have become more and more common in these settings. It is important to remember, though, that even though these tools are getting more sophisticated as time goes on, they are not guaranteed to detect plagiarism. Plagiarism detectors are used by people who want to confirm the authenticity and originality of a piece of writing. There are two main groups who use these online tools: Teachers and professors may need to confirm that a student’s submitted work is actually their own. Inauthentic work isn’t just an academic honesty violation, but it also prevents the student from actually learning the content of the course. Publishing professionals, website editors, and newspaper editors will often need to check their submissions for plagiarism to make sure that no one they have hired is turning in plagiarized work. Their reputation is at stake if they publish plagiarized work! Any other employer who publishes information for the public to read may choose to run plagiarism detection software to make sure they don’t end up facing legal issues as a result of plagiarized content. Some people use online plagiarism detection tools because they want to make sure that their own work lacks any sort of uncited or copied content. Students may use it to verify that all of their quotes are appropriately cited, and that they didn’t accidentally copy and paste something without proper attribution into their work. Students may check homework, papers, theses, or dissertations for plagiarism before submitting it. Marketing content writers could similarly use these tools, to make sure that none of their content is unintentionally copied from another source. In fact, anyone who writes for publication could do the same. Plagiarism detectors work by comparing the text of a submitted document against a massive database of other materials. The algorithm of the tool detects matches and similarities that may indicate plagiarism. The best thing plagiarism detection software can do is identify text that was copied word-for-word from another source. However, plagiarism detectors have limitations. These tools cannot do the following: These tools will also flag correctly cited quotations as plagiarized content because technically those quotes are “copied.” False positives are somewhat common, although it is hard to get accurate numbers about how frequently these tools get it wrong. Instead of becoming overly dependent upon online plagiarism tools, try these strategies for preventing and recognizing plagiarized material: Is plagiarism something that stops being relevant after a person finishes school? Not at all–plagiarism matters in the “real world,” too. Just take a look at some of these times when people faced consequences for intentionally or unintentionally plagiarizing someone else’s work: Of course, in most real-world cases of plagiarism, the problems were not detected by plagiarism checkers. Rather, they were identified because people were familiar with the original texts that the plagiarizer copied. The best way to avoid the consequences of plagiarism is to prevent it from happening in the first place. There are no “tricks” for bypassing online plagiarism tools. Some people will rely on the likelihood of a false positive and claim that their work wasn’t really plagiarized, but savvy professors, teachers, and bosses will have other ways of identifying plagiarism. Here are some strategies: When you conduct research, take detailed notes so that you can properly cite sources. If you copy and paste a quote, be sure to put it into quotation marks and cite it immediately so you don’t forget where the information came from. When paraphrasing, make a note of where the original idea came from. Learn the citation style required for your field (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago) and apply it consistently throughout your work. Properly attribute all direct quotes, paraphrases, and ideas that you take from outside sources. Some writers say, “I’ll just add those citations later!” but that strategy can lead to plagiarism accusations if you forget to properly cite sources before you turn the work in. Have professors, peers, or editors review your work for potential issues with attribution or originality. Getting a fresh set of eyes can help catch any unintentional plagiarism! Knowing they have limitations, run your document through a plagiarism checker before submitting it. This allows you to identify and correct any problems before your work is evaluated. Throughout the writing process, double-check your citations and always be mindful of where the information in your work has come from. By developing these strong research and writing habits, you can significantly reduce the risk of being accused of plagiarism. When you always cite your sources, you can maintain your academic and professional integrity, no matter what kind of writing you are producing.