How to check for Plagiarism in HackerRank Tests

HackerRank for work uses a comprehensive and swift plagiarism detection methodology with the goal to identify candidate submissions with the likelihood of plagiarism by determining if codes are similar. We optimize for candidate experience and reduce false alarms so that we do not penalize any innocent candidate(s) while ensuring all submissions are original and authentic.

HackerRank for Work provides detailed Test Reports which help you view your Candidates' performance in a Test. The Test Reports are generated after the Candidates' have submitted a Test, and given below is a walk-through of how a recruiter can use our plagiarism detection process while analyzing candidates based on their test reports. 

Prerequisites

1. You must have a HackerRank for Work account.
2. You must have at least one Test attempted by Candidates and their submissions pending for further evaluation.

Steps

1. Navigate to Tests and select the required Test.
2. Click the Candidates tab, and select a Candidate entry pending for evaluation. 
3. In the Candidates Test Summary page, click the Detailed Tab to view the detailed Test Report of the Candidate.  
4. The Detailed Tab will show you if the candidate has submitted code that is plagiarized, as shown below. In the image, you can see that solution code to 'Question 3' is flagged for plagiarism.
5. Our plagiarism detection tool also shows matches with other candidates across HackerRank for Work who might have submitted the same or similar code to the said question in any test. We match for a similar code with: 
   •  All candidates attempting any test across any company on the entirety of the HackerRank for Work platform.
6. The code matching happens in the following fashion: 
   • If a matched candidate is from the same test as the current one, you will be able to see the code match percentage, date of same/similar code submission, name of the test, the candidate email, with '(same test)' given next to the candidate name. 
   • If a matched candidate is from a different test but you have access to the test, you will still be able to see the code match percentage, date of same/similar code submission, name of the test and the candidate email. 
   • If a matched candidate is from a different test that you do not have access to, you will still be able to see code match percentage, date of same/similar code submission but not the test name or candidate email.  
7. Code Match Percentage and View Diff: The 'Match Percentage' shows you how much of a match there is between the current candidate's code and matching codes. To the far right of the match percentage, is the option to 'view diff', clicking which will display matching codes with differences highlighted. It is based on this possible, partial or no match scenario, that we recommend the match percentage. Based on the result, the recruiter can take a call as to how to proceed with the candidature. 

Plagiarism Detection at HackerRank for Work detects candidates who have the same structure of code and logic used but could have changed variable names, looping constructs and more. We check for similarity in structure, code similarity and such. Read more about plagiarism detection and how we go about it here.