Plagiarism Detection Changes

If you've been a regular user of PaperRater, then you may already be aware that we've been struggling with issues in the plagiarism detection module.  We first ran into problems when using a 2nd-tier search API that powered this feature, but we were able to switch to Google and restore service.  This was great for a time, but led to even worse problems as Google accidentally killed our subscription at one point, and, more recently, they have set a very low limit on API requests, which has caused our plagiarism check to have issues later in the day, while working flawlessly in the mornings.
After temporarily disabling the plagiarism check for the past few days, we are rolling it out again today with the Bing Search API powering it under the hood.  We hope this will yield better uptime, but we have already found bugs with their phrase queries, about which we've contacted them.  Feel free to contact us with any feedback regarding this rollout.  Thank you for the patience you've shown as we continue to work through these issues.  And please continue to spread the word about this free resource.  Our team is working hard to deliver a top-notch product that is accessible to all.  But all funds are currently devoted to development and operations, so we need your help to spread the word!  Linking to our website wouldn't hurt either.  :-)   Thanks!

UPDATE  Nov. 10, 2013:  We received a lot of feedback in the few days after this was posted (thank you!).  We responded to this feedback by making further enhancements to the plagiarism detection, which we released near the end of this week.  Results are not optimal, but the dissatisfaction rate has dropped significantly.  We will continue to rollout other enhancements to the plagiarism checker in the weeks ahead that should help address accuracy.



11 comments:

  1. I'm happy you have the Plagarism detect back but your captcha is causing huge problems. Even when I'm sure I am typing it correctly and I check it--it says it is wrong. The audio is very muffled and unintelligible.

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  2. I changed the parts of my essay that were plagiarized and it still said 71% even after I know I changed the right things

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    1. I guess it detects the rates of plagiarism based on how similar your essay is to ones on the internet. Look at it like an originality checker. Some topics are more written about than others and will result with a higher "plagiarism" score

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  3. @Joseph: that is due to caching. The plagiarism detection is very expensive, so we rely heavily on caching.

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  4. Only one issue. I tried to check a dissertation and the document was to long. How do I get around this?

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    1. @Len: You can use the premium service at premium.paperrater.com, which allows longer papers to be submitted. A full dissertation will likely still need to be submitted in 15 page blocks.

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  5. My only complaint at this point is the use of Capcha... it makes me not want to use the service any longer.

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    1. @James: sorry, but this is a necessity to keep out the bots. We may add no-CAPTCHA as a feature of the premium membership if there is any demand for this.

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  6. I think you guys need to tweak your system some more. There is a competitor out there and I ran my original article on your system and theirs. Your's stated 57% while the other one stated the article was indeed original. Plus they check a lot more things I believe which may indicate the more accurate score.

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  7. I teach at a high school that cannot afford a fee-based plagiarism checker and am tickled pink with your product. Thanks, guys!

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  8. I teach in a high school. Just submitted a partial research paper on climate change (the first 1-2 pages) to demonstrate your service for students in my class. Paperrater responded that the same info may be contained in this:

    The following web pages may contain content matching this document:
    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/09/pakistan-mosque-of-heretical-muslim-sect-demolished-after-islamic-clerics-protest-and-muslims-issue

    Just looking at the link address above indicates Paperrater missed the mark hugely. A big disappointment, as I'd sent all of my students to run their papers through your site before turning them in.

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