Google search: A simple and free tool to detect plagiarism

Context: A manuscript should be devoid of plagiarism to get it published in a journal. Hence, checking plagiarism is an essential part of the publication. There are paid and free service providers who help in checking plagiarism of articles. Free service providers allow a user to search limited number of words per day. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe a method of checking plagiarism which is free, and there is no limit on the words that can be searched for plagiarism. Methods: A manuscript can be checked for text plagiarism with the help of Google “exact word or phrase” search. To do this, the user (i.e., author, reviewer, and editor) has to copy the portion of text and search it on Google with the text in quotes. This commands Google to search for the exact words and phrases in exact order. If search results are shown by Google with the exact sentence, it may be copied, unintentionally plagiarized, or a very common sentence. Conclusion: The method of searching plagiarism with the help of Google “exact word or phrase” search can be used by authors, reviewers, and editors to check duplicate content present in the manuscript. However, this method has limitations. It may not be capable of detecting an inadequately paraphrased sentence. Hence, its usage should be adapted with caution.