Plagiarism Detection:
A Guide for Faculty

It is advisable to contact the Dean of the College for Academic Life (x3133) with questions regarding suspected plagiarism, and to consult the Academic Behavior Code as outlined in the Student Handbook for responsibilities of faculty and students.

Step #1: Internet search engines

The quickest, cheapest, and easiest method to research suspected plagiarism is use of an Internet search engine such as Google  (http://www.google.com), one that examines the entire text of web documents.

In the Google search box, enter a distinctive sentence from the document in question and enclose in quotation marks.  

Example:

"Two types of stable systems can be found in the physical universe: the death state of perfect equilibrium and the infinitely fertile condition of self-organized non-equilibrium"

Alternatively, enter key phrases from the same sentence:

"Two types of stable systems" and "perfect equilibrium"

 

Step #2: Full-text library databases Not to be overlooked are Trexler Library's full-text databases, especially Academic Search Elite  (http://library.muhlenberg.edu/screens/remote.html) and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (http://library.muhlenberg.edu/screens/remote.html). To search the entire text of an article in Academic Search Elite, check the option on the screen to "search within full text article." To search the entire text of an article in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, choose General News, then select the tab marked "more options," then limit to full text.

Example:

In Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, select General News, then "more options," then limit to full text and, without quotation marks this time, submit:

You might discern ruins of great castles, warrior heads from Easter Island, cathedral steeples or even a slender lady in a Grecian robe

Alternatively, search on keywords:

discern and grecian

Step #3: Reference librarians

For further investigation, contact the Trexler Library Reference Dept. at x3602.