Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation

When using code similarity detection to uncover code plagiarism and collusion, the marker needs to determine whether any detected similarities might be the result of coincidence. But understanding the similarities can be difficult and might be prone to human error, because few tools facilitate the i...

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Main Authors: Oscar Karnalim, Simon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2021-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9405994/
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author Oscar Karnalim
Simon
author_facet Oscar Karnalim
Simon
author_sort Oscar Karnalim
collection DOAJ
description When using code similarity detection to uncover code plagiarism and collusion, the marker needs to determine whether any detected similarities might be the result of coincidence. But understanding the similarities can be difficult and might be prone to human error, because few tools facilitate the investigation process, and if they do, the similarities are not explicitly explained in human language. This paper presents STRANGE, an investigation module that exclusively explains code similarities in natural language (English and Indonesian). For the purpose of reusability, STRANGE can be embedded in JPlag and other code similarity detection tools. It can also act as a standalone tool for measuring source code similarity. Our evaluation shows that STRANGE is more helpful than JPlag in the investigation process since it explains the similarities in natural language. Further, its effectiveness is comparable to that of JPlag but higher on trivial disguises of the sort that novice students will tend to apply when disguising copied code.
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spelling doaj.art-bc67567029d3465c9507cd9086cc30ba2022-12-22T03:47:14ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362021-01-019599355994810.1109/ACCESS.2021.30737039405994Explanation in Code Similarity InvestigationOscar Karnalim0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4930-6249 Simon1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2285-283XSchool of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaSchool of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaWhen using code similarity detection to uncover code plagiarism and collusion, the marker needs to determine whether any detected similarities might be the result of coincidence. But understanding the similarities can be difficult and might be prone to human error, because few tools facilitate the investigation process, and if they do, the similarities are not explicitly explained in human language. This paper presents STRANGE, an investigation module that exclusively explains code similarities in natural language (English and Indonesian). For the purpose of reusability, STRANGE can be embedded in JPlag and other code similarity detection tools. It can also act as a standalone tool for measuring source code similarity. Our evaluation shows that STRANGE is more helpful than JPlag in the investigation process since it explains the similarities in natural language. Further, its effectiveness is comparable to that of JPlag but higher on trivial disguises of the sort that novice students will tend to apply when disguising copied code.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9405994/Code similarity detectioncollusioncomputing educationnatural language explanationplagiarismprogramming
spellingShingle Oscar Karnalim
Simon
Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
IEEE Access
Code similarity detection
collusion
computing education
natural language explanation
plagiarism
programming
title Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
title_full Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
title_fullStr Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
title_full_unstemmed Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
title_short Explanation in Code Similarity Investigation
title_sort explanation in code similarity investigation
topic Code similarity detection
collusion
computing education
natural language explanation
plagiarism
programming
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9405994/
work_keys_str_mv AT oscarkarnalim explanationincodesimilarityinvestigation
AT simon explanationincodesimilarityinvestigation