Research papers are one of the most important pieces of academic writing a student must do in their university life. Depending on the course, the student may have to write anywhere from one or two papers, to 10+.
Typically, a student in an undergraduate program has to write one research paper that relates to their graduation project. This paper is supposed to be innovative, unique, and somewhat groundbreaking.
If any plagiarism were to be found in this paper, it would result in the student not getting their degree. So, all other things aside, uniqueness is one of the most important things to maintain when writing such a paper.
In this article, we at Thinks Knowledge will look at ways in which students can check their research papers for plagiarism and ensure that they do not have copied content.
Types of Plagiarism
Before one can start checking for plagiarism, they have to understand what it is. Plagiarism has many types. It can range from simple to complex and that can affect how easy or difficult it is to detect it. Some common types are listed below.
- Verbatim plagiarism. This is a type of plagiarism in which the perpetrator directly copies content from a source word for word. It is very easy to detect.
- Paraphrased plagiarism. In this type, the perpetrator takes some time to alter the syntax of the plagiarized text to make it look different than the original. However, the meaning and idea are the same. This is a relatively difficult form of plagiarism to detect.
- Mosaic plagiarism. This is a very malicious form of plagiarism in which the perpetrator uses small bits and pieces of different works to make a new work. It is also very hard to detect.
So, these are some common types of plagiarism that a bad actor can do.
Some Methods for Checking Plagiarism
Now, that we have a better understanding of plagiarism let’s see how we can detect it.
1. Copying Parts of Their Text into Google Search
In this primitive method, a student can check their work for plagiarism by inputting parts of their research paper into a Google search bar. If the work is plagiarized, the search will show the source material from which the work was plagiarized.
If it is unique, then only related stuff will show up in the search. This is a really bad technique for checking plagiarism for various reasons. Some of them are given below:
- Google has a max input limit of 32 words where one word can be 128 characters at best. This means that students will have to check their work line by line.
- This requires an insane amount of time and effort on the student’s part.
- It is unable to detect paraphrased plagiarism
So, it is wildly inefficient. That much is obvious, so is there a better way to check for plagiarism? Yes, there is, a much better way in fact.
2. With an Online AI Plagiarism Checker
The other option that students can turn to for checking their research papers is an online plagiarism-checking tool. But it can’t be just any plagiarism checker, it must be one powered by artificial intelligence.
A standard plagiarism checker is only able to detect verbatim plagiarism; the type where the content is copied word for word from a source without attribution. An AI plagiarism checker can even detect paraphrased plagiarism. So, if students want to check plagiarism in their research papers, then they should use the AI version.
That way, even if they have some accidental and coincidental plagiarism in their work, they will be able to find it. The best thing about plagiarism checkers is that they provide a report at the end that lists the sources that were plagiarized. This allows students to cite those sources and prevent plagiarism in their work.
Here is how you can use an AI plagiarism checker.
1. Pick a Top-Ranking Tool
To find an AI plagiarism checker, you must use the exact same phrase and paste it into Google, Bing, Yahoo!, or whatever your preferred search engine is. Then from the results, you must pick out a tool from the top 10. You can choose one due to their looks or features, whichever is more important to you.
Then when you have picked one, follow the rest of the steps. Since most tools have the same kind of layout and function, you can apply these instructions to almost all of them.
2. Input Your Content into the Tool
Most tools support multiple input methods such as copy-pasting, manual typing, file uploading and even importing from online sources.
Since the student is supposed to be checking a research paper that is too long to copy-paste, they should use the upload option. File uploading allows the user to browse their device for the file and upload it in one click while preserving its formatting.
3. Conduct the Check and Read the Plagiarism Report
Once the content has been uploaded, the user needs to click the button that finalizes the process and prompts the tool to check for plagiarism. After a few seconds of waiting, your content will be scanned and a report will be generated.
This report is the most important part of the entire process. Not only does it show you how much content is plagiarized, but it also tells you exactly which part of the content is copied.
And to seal the deal, the report also gives you a list of sources along with their similarity index that shows which content was taken from which source.
With all of this information, it becomes easy to learn where plagiarism is in a research paper and cite it or remove it to avoid plagiarism.
Conclusion
And those were two ways to check for plagiarism. One method was to manually check by searching individual lines in Google. This is a very inaccurate, and inefficient method of checking plagiarism.
The other method was to use an AI plagiarism checker which automatically checks your work for plagiarism. They are more accurate, time-saving, and efficient compared to the other method. They are also available for free, so most students can use them easily.
