Dear Reader,
In my 25+ years as a physics professor at the University of Virginia, I have had many encounters with plagiarism. Most memorably, in 2001, I devised a computer program that uncovered more than fifty plagiarized term papers that had been submitted to my introductory physics class over a period of several years. That episode had a profound effect on my life and career, and I hope that others can learn from my experiences and find ways to deal more effectively with plagiarism.
Regards,
Lou Bloomfield
Dr. Bloomfield,
Please send me an email (dconklin58@yahoo.com) with your snail mail address so I can send you a copy of a study I did using your program. A short version of it was published in a scholarly journal and the reviewers enjoyed it.
David
Dear Lou,
I have been looking for software program juts like WCopyfind. It is fantastic and fairly easy to use. I have recently given an on-line exam and found 2 students cheated on a large number of essays questions by sharing their answers. On many it was obvious, but I wanted to check it and have the duplicate parts of answers highlighted.
WCopyfind did a great job but I have a few questions.
1. On the file comparison report, Perfect Match results for my report shows: 499 (32% L, 35% R) and Overall Match is: 534 (35%) L; 534 (38%) R. I a bit unclear what these numbers mean. How does this % relate to the level of similarity or duplication in the two documents?
2.When I compare the results side-by-side of the two answer sets your software really shows the areas that are the same by red lines. It clearly shows the level of answers these students went to.
3. In the side by side comparison in sections of the documents, there were many words that were the same by visual observation, but the were not underlined. How should I change settings on the comparison test to pick up these sections?
Lou thanks very much. Your program is invaluable for detecting this type of on-line exam cheating. I have never had students cheat on an exam I have given in 31 years of teaching. But this is the 1st time I have gone with an on-line essay-type exam. Maybe the last?
When you have time, I look forward to your response to my questions.
Cheers,
Rick