Web Plagiarism Detection Against Candidate Code

Web Plagiarism Detection Against Candidate Code

At Mercer | Mettl, we are excited to introduce "Web Sense", our innovative feature designed to enhance the integrity of coding assessments by detecting instances of plagiarism against web content. Our sophisticated algorithm leverages advanced technology to identify copied material, ensuring that the submissions we evaluate reflect genuine understanding and original thought.

"Web Sense" utilizes state-of-the-art techniques to analyse the code submitted by candidates. It examines the structure, context, and phrasing of the content, comparing it to existing web material. By employing advanced matching algorithms, Web Sense can detect not only direct copying but also instances of paraphrasing and subtle rewording. This feature is essential in today’s digital landscape, where access to information is abundant and the temptation to plagiarize is ever-present. 

At Mercer | Mettl, we believe it is incorrect to rely solely on the plagiarism percentage calculated by the system. These scores are intended to indicate the relative similarity between a candidate’s code and code available on the internet. However, they are not definitive proof of plagiarism — only a signal of potential similarity. A manual review of the code is still necessary for verification. 
Additionally, plagiarism scores should not be used as the sole criterion for selecting or rejecting a candidate. Other parameters, such as test cases, proctoring data, and browsing tolerance, must also be taken into consideration. 

Understanding the Results 

When a submission is evaluated using Web Sense, the candidate’s report includes a plagiarism score, indicating the percentage of content that matches online sources, along with the link to the website where the maximum match is detected. This score helps evaluators understand the originality of the work.



The Web Sense score will be marked as N/A in the following situations: 

  • The candidate has scored zero or fewer marks. 

  • Web Sense does not support the language the candidate has coded in.

  • The Web Sense score is 0%. 

Support for Programming Languages

Currently, we support the calculation of the "Web Sense" score for the given programming languages: C, C18, CPP, CPP17, CSHARP, CSHARP12, JAVA7, JAVA8, JAVA11, JAVA17, JAVA21, JAVASCRIPT8, JAVASCRIPT19, PHP, PHP8, PYTHON2, PYTHON3, TYPESCRIPT.

For all other languages, the Web Sense score will be marked as N/A.