This document summarizes a presentation on contract cheating in engineering given by Dr. Thomas Lancaster. It discusses the prevalence of contract cheating services, examples of engineering assignments posted on such sites, and strategies academics can use to prevent, detect, and educate students about cheating. The presentation aims to help academics address the ongoing issue of students outsourcing their coursework to third parties.

1. Winning The Contract Cheating
Battle
Dr. Thomas Lancaster
University of Sheffield
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
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2. Background To The Seminar
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3. What’s Being Covered Today?
General background to Contract Cheating, with specific
application to academic integrity within the Engineering
discipline
Consider relevant examples and the practical steps that
academics can take when developing assessments and
engaging in professional practice
The intention is to help academia take control of the
“contract cheating battle”
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4. Discussion Welcome!
Twitter -
#contractcheating
Live – Feel free to join in and share ideas
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5. My Background
Dr. Thomas Lancaster
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Senior Lecturer in Computing at
Birmingham City University
Programme Leader BSc Computer
Science and MSci Mathematics
Senior Fellow of the Higher
Education Academy
Active researcher in the plagiarism
and cheating fields since 2000
PhD “Effective And Efficient
Plagiarism Detection” from London
South Bank University

6. With Acknowledgement To My
Colleague “Detective Bob”
Robert Clarke Educational Consultant and
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Researcher at SCL
Current Visiting Lecturer
Former Principal Lecturer
30 Years Experience Teaching At
Birmingham City University
Has collected over 25,000 attempts at
Contract Cheating
An expert in “Multi-Dimensional
Sudoku”

7. Contract Cheating Isn’t A New
Problem
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8. Why Are We Still Not Winning?
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Blog Post from 2012
http://blogs.heacademy.ac.uk/stem/2012/05/25/why-arent-we-
winning-the-contract-cheating-battle/

9. Our Work On Contract Cheating
Predates This
Times Higher Education, 16 June 2006
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/todays-news/203722.article
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Media Article
From 2006

10. Not A Secret In The 1990s
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=CRS19950531.2.2
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Student Media Article
From 1995

11. The Big Debate That Issue…
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12. “Research Assistance” Then
Firm quoted in the story said to have been providing students with
“assistance” across the USA since the 1960s.
“’We take almost everything,’ said an employee of Research Assistance.”
Observation From Student Taking Courses In 1998
“Class would be at 9 a.m. Papers were promised for before class, and students
would wait on the front steps of the building. The guy would come and call
[the students'] names, handing out papers in front of the building!”
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13. “Research Assistance” Now
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Website Advertising
In 2014
http://research-assistance.com/essays/

14. More Than Just Essays
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15. Cheating Still Attracts Major
Interest
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16. #unicheating
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https://twitter.com/AmyMcNeilage

17. “Thousands” Of Students In
Sydney Caught Outsourcing Work
“A Fairfax Media investigation has uncovered a sophisticated online
business, which has produced thousands of university assignments and
turned over hundreds of thousands of dollars since it began operating in
May 2012.”
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/students-enlist-mymaster-website-to-
write-essays-assignments-20141111-11k0xg.html
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18. Scale Of The Problem
“Fairfax Media has seen 700 receipts for direct deposits to the MyMaster bank
account, totalling more than $160,000 this year alone - a conservative estimate
of the company's annual income, as students can also pay by cash or PayPal.”
“Almost 1000 assignments produced this year for students studying courses as
diverse as philosophy, economics, law, engineering, astronomy and marketing.”
“MyMaster customers have paid for business reports, speeches, powerpoint
presentations and the completion of online tests, and requests range from short
homework tasks to comprehensive research assignments.”
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19. The Investigation
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Video Stills

20. Contract Cheating Using
Agency Sites
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21. Contract Cheating
Contract cheating occurs when a student uses a
third party to produce an original piece of
assessed work which they then submit as if they
had created it
This might be through using an essay writing service or
a personal tutor
Because contract cheating provides original work, it
will not usually be detected through Turnitin
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22. Sources Of Contract Cheating
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23. “Observable” Contract Cheating
Using Agency Sites
RentACoder.com was an “agency site”, primarily for
computing tasks, where people could place up jobs they
needed completing and other people would bid to
complete the work for them.
Our first study, published in 2006, found that the “average” student
posted between 4 and 7 assignments online before their cheating was
attributed
(RentACoder since renamed and taken over by Freelancer.com)
Clarke, R and Lancaster, T (2006). Eliminating The Successor To Plagiarism? Identifying The Usage Of Contract Cheating Sites; 2nd Plagiarism:
Prevention, Practice and Policy Conference 2006 - Newcastle, UK, June 2006.
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24. Typical Microelectronics
Assignment On Freelancer.com
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Observed on 21 November 2014

25. Inside The 3 Page PDF Assignment
Brief
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26. Mechanical Engineering
Assignment On Freelancer.com
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Observed on 21 November 2014

27. Three “Images” Provided With
More Details
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28. Some Other “Engineering” Work
Available On First Page Of Results
Chemical Engineering Problems to be
Solved
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Chemical Engineering - ASPEN PLUS
Engineering Vibration Coursework Proposal writing for a Civil Engineering
project
Math Calculus and Engineering Math system design and software engineering
Topic for computer Engineering thesis Mech. Engineering- Solid Works
Engineering Discipline Report Engineering Report Urgent
77 results from Freelancer.com search for “engineering” on 21 November 2014

29. The Real Dangers Of Contract
Cheating In Engineering
“this a assignment for do shielding for fast reactor i
need the materials, shape, attenuation coefficient and
size of the shielding and dose analysis around the
reactor. this for health physics or nuclear engineering”
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30. Disadvantaging “Honest”
Students?
“Would you like to go for a job and be pipped to
the post by someone who cheated in their
degree?”
Robert Clarke, Birmingham City University
When Essays For Sale Become Contract Cheating, November 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20298237
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31. Applying Research Findings
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32. Current Database Of “Observable”
Contract Cheating
25,679 detected items between July 2006 and
October 2014
Vast majority from freelancer.com (or
incorporated sites)
Easiest to search
Provide plenty of details of users to aid attribution
Certain users are actively tracked
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33. Postings By Agency (July 2006 to
October 2014)
1342
725
294
216
190
110
29
5468
Freelancer
Rentacoder
GetACoder
EssayBay
ScriptLance
LivePerson
Transtutors
Other
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17305
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000
Odesk

34. EssayBay Study Of 627 Assignment
Requests
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
N Business & Admin studies
L Social Studies
V Hist & Philosophical studies
B Subjects allied to Medicine
X Education
C Biological Sciences
Q Linguistics, Classics & related
G Mathematical & Comp Sci
M Law
H Engineering
K Architecture,Build & Plan
F Physical Sciences
W Creative Arts & Design
P Mass Comms and Documentation
R European Langs, Lit & related
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2012), Dealing with Contract Cheating: A Question of Attribution, 1st HEA STEM Conference
April 2012, London, United Kingdom
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Sample of 627 “all
subject” cases collected
on EssayBay over 5
months in 2010, and
manually classified by
UCAS Subject Category
EssayBay no longer
operational, but this is
an example of an
Agency site exclusively
set up for student
assignments

35. Level Of EssayBay Work
Postings by level
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Undergraduate
Masters
GCSE A/A2
High Sch
PhD
Advanced Placement
GNVQ
PhD ?
International Bacc
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36. Transtutors Study Of 174 Requests
For Academic Help
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Sample of 174 “all
subject” bespoke
assignment requests
from courses taught
online at 17 different
institutions.
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2014), An Observational Analysis Of The Range And Extent Of Contract Cheating From Online Courses Found
On Agency Websites; 8th International Conference on Complex, Intelligent and Software Intensive Systems (CISIS 2014), Birmingham
City University, UK, July 2014.

37. Contract Cheating Can Involve A
Large Cast Of Characters
Student Agency Site
Essay Mill
Site
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Worker
Intermediary
Contractor
The student may
“outsource” the work
direct to the agency or
indirectly through a
essay-mill site or
intermediary contractor
Clarke, R. and Lancaster, T. (2013). Commercial Aspects Of Contract Cheating; 8th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in
Computer Science Education, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, July 2013.

38. What Can We Do To Win The
Contract Cheating Battle?
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39. Focus On Prevention
Use assessment types that are not susceptible to “paid
for” solutions
Vivas
Exams
Practical Tests
Linked Coursework and Tests
Teamwork Assessments
Localised Knowledge
Reflective Analysis
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40. Focus On Detection
Collect work electronically and run through
Turnitin
Can still identify “trace elements” of contract cheating
Always provides elements of deterrence
Automatically monitor agency and online sites
Can use Google Alert
Introduce unusual terminology/spellings
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41. Focus On Student Integrity
Infer a sense of ownership of work
Educate students on plagiarism and contract
cheating
Provide a “safe environment” for students to
voice concerns
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42. “Times Higher Education” Lead Story
(10 October 2013)
“The damage contract cheating can inflict
on society is clear. Graduates emerge
from university with huge (and in some
disciplines, potentially dangerous) gaps
in their learning and knowledge.”
Academics should aim to ensure that
students understand the value of completing
their own work
Continued work is necessary to develop
appropriate assessment mechanisms to
ensure that students do have the skills
required by industry
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http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/essay-mills-
university-course-work-to-order/3/2007934.article

43. Are Exams The Answer?
http://joshmaymedia.com/whiteWeasel/index.html
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44. Further Resources
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45. References For Our Contract
Cheating Work
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2015), Contract Cheating – The Outsourcing Of Assessed Student Work, in Handbook of Academic Integrity, Bretag, T. (editor):
SpringerReference.
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2014), An Observational Analysis Of The Range And Extent Of Contract Cheating From Online Courses Found On Agency Websites;
8th International Conference on Complex, Intelligent and Software Intensive Systems (CISIS 2014), Birmingham City University, UK, July 2014.
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2014), An Initial Analysis Of The Contextual Information Available Within Auction Posts On Contract Cheating Agency Websites,
28th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications, University of Victoria, May 2014
Lancaster, T. and Clarke, R. (2014), Using Turnitin As A Tool For Attribution In Cases Of Contract Cheating; 3rd Annual Higher Education Academy Conference in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, April 2014.
Clarke, R. and Lancaster, T. (2013). Commercial Aspects Of Contract Cheating; 8th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science
Education, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, July 2013.
Lancaster, T and Clarke, R (2012). Dealing With Contract Cheating: A Question Of Attribution; 1st Annual Higher Education Academy Conference in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Imperial College, London, April 2012.
Lancaster, T and Clarke, R (2010). Staff-Led Individualised Assessment – A Case Study; 11th Annual Higher Education Academy Conference in Information and
Computer Sciences, Durham University, August 2010.
Lancaster, T and Clarke, R (2008). How to Succeed at Cheating Without Really Trying: Five Top Tips for Successful Cheating; 9th Annual Higher Education
Academy Conference in Information and Computer Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, August 2008.
Clarke, R, and Lancaster, T (2007). Establishing a Systematic Six-Stage Process for Detecting Contract Cheating; The Second International Conference on
Pervasive Computing and Applications, Birmingham City University, July 2007.
Lancaster, T and Clarke, R (2007). Assessing Contract Cheating Through Auction Sites – A Computing Perspective; 8th Annual Higher Education Academy
Conference in Information and Computer Sciences, University of Southampton, August 2007.
Lancaster, T and Clarke, R (2007) The Phenomena of Contract Cheating, in Student Plagiarism in an Online World: Problems and solutions, Roberts, T. S. (editor),
Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA: Idea Group Inc.
Clarke, R and Lancaster, T (2006). Eliminating The Successor To Plagiarism? Identifying The Usage Of Contract Cheating Sites; 2nd Plagiarism: Prevention,
Practice and Policy Conference 2006 - Newcastle, UK, June 2006.
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46. For More Information
General Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_cheating
http://contractcheating.com
Contract Cheating Special Interest Group (supported by the Higher Education
Academy):
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=CONTRACTCHEATING
Slides Available At:
http://www.slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster
Contact Me At:
Email: thomas.lancaster@bcu.ac.uk
Twitter: @DrLancaster
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