Results of the plagiarism setection system test 2013

Can software automatically detect plagiarism? Many companies sell software that suggests just that. Prof. Dr. Debora Weber-Wulff, professor for media and computing at the HTW Berlin, has previously conducted six tests of plagiarism detection systems, in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. For 2013, instead of attempting to test all possible systems, a selection was made that included software previously found to be at least partially useful, as well as some newcomers. In all, 28 systems were investigated, but only 15 systems were able to complete the test series that included many new test cases designed to address specific aspects of the use of plagiarism detection systems at educational institutions. In particular, large files that simulated bachelor’s and master’s theses were constructed, one test case was designed to determine if the software can access and use Google Books, and some test cases that use cheats sometimes used by students to thwart such software were put together. In addition, Hebrew was used as the non-Latin test case language 2013.