Implemented MOSS for plagiarism detection in assignments

• Day: 2024-06-24
• Time: 15:35 to 16:35
• Project: Teaching
• Workspace: WP 2: Operational
• Status: Completed
• Priority: MEDIUM
• Assignee: Matías Nehuen Iglesias
• Tags: MOSS, Python, Plagiarism Detection, Automation, Scripting

Description

Session Goal

The goal of this session was to set up and execute the Measure Of Software Similarity (MOSS) tool for detecting plagiarism in student programming assignments.

Key Activities

• Set up MOSS for plagiarism detection, including registration, installation, and script execution.
• Developed a Python script to integrate MOSS, organizing submissions and automating the process using the subprocess module.
• Modified the script to handle file limitations, retrieving up to three files from directories for MOSS processing.
• Resolved an error related to the unrecognized ‘-u’ option in the MOSS script by providing a corrected version.
• Summarized the results of the MOSS execution, noting no plagiarism was detected.
• Provided insights into the Perl MOSS client script, detailing its structure and functionality.
• Managed submission limits by batching file submissions and automating the process with a Python script.
• Executed a batch submission script for Python files to facilitate similarity checks.
• Utilized shell commands to count files by extension within directories.
• Analyzed execution results, identified issues, and suggested improvements for file handling and error reporting.

Achievements

• Successfully set up and executed MOSS, confirming no plagiarism in the current batch of submissions.
• Developed and tested scripts to automate and optimize the MOSS submission process.

Pending Tasks

• Further analysis and refinement of file handling and error reporting in the MOSS scripts to enhance robustness and reliability.

Evidence

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• event_ids: []