Verdict: In tests, the scanner detected plagiarism in four out of six sample documents – higher than the average, but still only as good as some of the free checkers also tested.
Service: www.plagtracker.com/ | |
| What are the subscription options? e.g. free, paid only, paid and freeIf paid options, what length of subscription/price structure is offered? | Online checker may be used without a subscription but all reports after the first will be delayed. Premium subscription costs $7.49. |
| Maximum word count? (if any) | Unlimited/ not specified. |
| Resubmissions allowed? If so, is this limited? | Unlimited checks. |
| Type of scanner E.g. software download, copy and paste, upload document online. Say if multiple options are offered. | Two options offered: “Copy and paste’ online scanner;File uploader. |
| Sources checked E.g. internet, any specific journal databases mentioned, any electronic book databases such as Google docs mentioned, past submissions from other students etc | Website – no words altered; Website – some words removed; Website – some words changed; Website – fully paraphrased; Online pdf; Electronic book. |
| File types supported E.g. doc, docx, rtf, open office, pdfs, ppts | Supported file types include .DOC, .DOCX, .RTF & .TXT on the Premium version. |
| Extra features? E.g. grammar checker, spelling checker | None. |
| Support offered? E.g. phone, email etc | There is an FAQ and a “contact us” link where users can submit an online query. |
| Report / results | |
| Type of report Downloadable? Shareable? | Reports are generated within the browser and these may be downloaded and shared. |
| Side by side comparison to plagiarism? | No. |
| Accuracy of results – Which sections were detected and which were not (make sure the correct source is identified) | |
| Basic plagiarism – copied and pasted from a website source | Detected. The online scanner correctly identified the webpage which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| Basic plagiarism – copied and pasted from an online pdf | Detected. The online scanner correctly identified the online pdf which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| Some words removed – copied and pasted from a website source | Detected. The online scanner correctly identified the webpage which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| Some words changed – copied and pasted from a website source | Not detected. The online scanner did not identify the website which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| Full paraphrasing – copied and pasted from a website source | Not detected. The online scanner did not identify the website which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| Basic plagiarism – copied and pasted from an electronic book | Detected. The online scanner correctly identified the electronic book which contained material that had been plagiarised. |
| General observations Ease of use, overall experience. If other features were included (e.g. spelling, grammar check), how easy were they to use and how useful were they? | |
| The PlagTracker website is one of those which raises suspicions the moment it loads. Even though “free” and “absolutely free” appear in its banner, there’s something about its professional design which tells you that there’s going to be some sort of cost involved. It also claims to be “the most accurate plagiarism checking service”, although no evidence for this is forthcoming. Its testimonials are, predictably, wholly positive and, again, a lot of it just doesn’t ring true.The plagiarism scanner which features on PlagTracker is professional in looks and tone and is easy to use. Down the right hand side of the scanner it reports how many other papers have been checked today, the average percentage of plagiarism and the number of positive feedback comments from customers – no matter what time of the day or night you log in, the number of papers “checked today” is always in its thousands. Documents can either be pasted into the scanner or uploaded and the checking process takes upwards of a minute. However, after one scan, free users have to wait for their report which is emailed to them later in the day.In tests, the scanner detected plagiarism in four out of six sample documents – higher than the average, but still only as good as some of the free checkers also tested. It detected blanket plagiarism and plagiarism where some of the words had been removed. It also spotted a plagiarised pdf and electronic book. It did not detect plagiarism in work where some of the words had been changed, nor did it spot an entirely paraphrased work. The word “awesome’ features a lot on PlagTracker. When it doesn’t detect that work has been plagiarised, it dubs it “awesome” and urges the user to share it… Likewise, every time a scan has completed, a feedback box pops up, “you have an awesome chance improve our service…” At least it doesn’t describe everything as epic.Like the other plagiarism scanners which offer free scans, it’s worth using PlagTracker’s free checker and a few other scanners if you want to detect plagiarism, but probably not worth the $7.49 for premium membership unless you really can’t wait to get your report. | |
