Contract cheating represents a threat to academic integrity for universities in Australia. This workshop was presented as part of a staff development session at Curtin University in October 2016 and explores the wider challenges posed by contract cheating, as well as looking at what universities can do to address the problem. The slides include several examples of how Australian students are contract cheating, including looking at work within disciplines as diverse as business, health, medicine, nursing, law and computing, as well as requests for groupwork and assignment revisions. The slides conclude by recommending that universities put together a combined programme of both contract cheating detection and contract cheating prevention.

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CONTRACT CHEATING
STRIVING FOR INTEGRITY
Workshop Presented by Dr. Thomas Lancaster
at Curtin University
on Wednesday 12 October 2016
http://thomaslancaster.co.uk
@DrLancaster

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CONTRACT CHEATING
WORKSHOP BACKGROUND

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My Research Background
Computer Science lecturer by trade,
multidisciplinary through experience
Associate Head of School specialising in
marketing and student recruitment at
Coventry University, United Kingdom
Advocate for improving the student
teaching and learning experience
Have developed research into student
plagiarism and academic integrity since
2000
Presented the first research work
referring to contract cheating in 2006
Current research is focused on the
marketing and promotional activities
behind contract cheating services

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References For My Main Contract Cheating Publications
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. (2015). The Implications of Plagiarism and Contract Cheating for the Assessment of Database Modules. 13th International Workshop on Teaching, Learning and
Assessment of Databases (TLAD 2015), Birmingham, UK, July 2015.
Hersey, C. and Lancaster, T. (2015). The Online Industry of Paper Mills, Contract Cheating Services, and Auction Sites, Clute Institute International Education Conference, London, June 2015.
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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http://www.slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster
A selection of the slides on contract cheating and plagiarism available on my SlideShare account
(the slides from today’s workshop are also available on SlideShare)

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Many Opportunities For Your Involvement
Twitter Please tweet thoughts, observations, comments,
quotes, photos, discussion topics
#contractcheating
@DrLancaster
Live Please join in the discussion, ask questions and
contribute stories

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With Acknowledgement To “Detective Bob”
Robert Clarke
My associate in the contract cheating research field since
our first publication together (in 2006)
Former Principal Lecturer at Birmingham City University
with over 30 years higher education teaching
Works tirelessly in his free time aiming to alert academics
when requests for their assignments are found online
Bob has collected over 30,000 attempts made by
students wanting to outsource their assessed work since
2005 (and he has stopped several million dollars of
cheating taking place)

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

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Audience Question
What would you like to know about contract cheating?
Which of the issues relating to contract cheating are of
the most concern to you?

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Areas For Consideration
What type of behaviours constitute contract cheating and
how are these observed?
What types of assignments and subject areas are most
associated with contract cheating?
What does the research into contract cheating tell us?
What opportunities are there for us to reduce or
eliminate contract cheating?

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WHAT EXACTLY IS
CONTRACT CHEATING?

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A (General) Description of Contract Cheating Is…
A student uses a third party to create
their academic work for them - or the
student attempts to involve a third
party in the creation of academic work
This is not a formal definition – just an attempt
to capture the feel of contract cheating

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Contract Cheating Example #1
A student buys an original “essay”
through an online essay mill – and
then submits the essay for
academic credit
The word “essay” is used in a sense that also captures
other types of assessment

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Contract Cheating Example #2
A student buys an original essay
through an online essay mill – but
does not submit the purchased essay

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Contract Cheating Example #3
A student starts work on their finance
assignment, but has trouble with the
mathematics. The student’s sister helps
out by completing the mathematics
section of the assignment.

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Contract Cheating Example #4
A student pays a friend (from another
university) to sit an examination on their
behalf

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Contract Cheating Example #5
A student posts details of an assignment
on an online auction site for freelancers.
On the site, the freelancers bid to
complete the assessed work on behalf of
the student.

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IS CONTRACT CHEATING A
PROBLEM?

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Contract Cheating Can Be Habitual
Our first study (2006) found that the
“average” student using RentACoder.com
had already posted between 4 and 7
assignments online at the time we did
the study
(RentACoder has since been merged into Freelancer)
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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MyMaster – Targeted Contract Cheating Site
Headline Figures
700 receipts
1000 assignments
$160,000 AUD of business

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https://twitter.com/workmanalice

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“Channel 4 Dispatches investigated the multi-million
pound industry where university students pay companies
to write their coursework.
Dr Thomas Lancaster, Britain’s leading expert on
academic cheating says: ‘The vast majority of students
of course are completely honest but I’ve seen estimates of
£200 million a year going through these [essay writing]
sites.’”
Channel 4 (UK) Dispatches
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/dispatches-investigation-reveals-extent-of-student-plagiarism
$340 Million AUD of Business?

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Australian TV Sting Operation
Four Corners – 21 April 2015
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/04/20/4217741.htm

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US TV Sting Operation (Orlando, Florida)
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/local-6-
confronts-man-helping-students-cheat-for-
cash/25825182
Writer found on Classified
site (May 2014)
Writes around 40 essays per
month, earns $1000 USD
($1300 AUD) per month
Hired by both students and
their parents

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Classifieds In Perth - Hire A Writer?

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Classifieds In Perth - Essay Help?
Where does help end
and contract cheating
begin?

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Classifieds In Perth - English Help?
How
trustworthy are
the results
from students
using these
services?

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One of many
examples of
offline advertising
of contract
cheating services

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The increased visibility of
contract cheating
opportunities for students
has become a major problem

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ACTIVITY
“GOOD” AND “BAD”
ASSESSMENT

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Activity
What kind of assessments are most at risk of
contract cheating?
From your own experience, identify:
Examples of ‘bad’ assessments
Examples of ‘good’ assessments

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WHAT WORK CAN STUDENTS
REQUEST?

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

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University Level Work Seen In An Essay Mill That
Uses Writers From The United States
Personal Communication
From A Writer For An
Essay Mill
(Used With Permission)
1 Business
=2 Health (including nursing and psychology)
=2 IT
4 History
5 Anthropology
6 Sociology
7 English language and literature
8 Law
(first three subjects - in red - said to dominate the requests)

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Work Available In A Major Essay Mill
Uvocorp – a ready-made
production service used by
many web sites that take essay
writing orders

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Services Advertised By An Essay Mill
https://domypapers.com

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EXAMPLES OF REQUESTED
ASSESSMENTS

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Computer Communication
It is a network programming assignment which
must be written in simple/basic standard C
programming language since it's an undergrad
The objective of this network programming assignment is to
develop two complementary programs, a client and a server,
that implement the TELNET Protocol (RFC 854).
Paid $99 AUD
“Bread and butter”
Freelancer computing
assignment

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Introduction to Curriculum
Essay on Austrlian Curriculum
Write an essay of up to 2000 words in length that analyses
the development and structure of the current Australian
Curriculum by drawing on curriculum development in
Australia, features of curriculum models and the needs of
diverse learners in the 21st Century. Compare the current
Australian Curriculum to local (state) and international
models of primary curriculum.
Paid $65 USD
A future primary
school teacher?

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Inquiry For Professional Practice
Word Count: 1500 words
The purpose of this assignment task is to identify the principles of
professional nursing practice, outline the ethical and legal
frameworks for professional practice and apply the Ethical Decision
Making Framework to a complex scenario to establish an ethically
and legally sound decision. Remember to incorporate evidenced-
based practice in relation to quality patient care.
Paid $90 AUD 44 bidders
An ethical
approach to
nursing?

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Business Law
Business Law 4 steps case study
3500+ words
Referencing Style: Chicago referencing style
Part A - Four step process
The case study which students are required to resolve using the four step
process is set out below. Students are required to apply the relevant legal
concepts and principles to analyse and solve the legal issues arising in the
case study by explaining and applying their knowledge of the legal
principles and rules arising in Australian legal system: topic four to five
inclusive.
Paid $79 AUD
Universal
language of
business?

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Finance (Instruments and Markets)
You, as financial consultant are requested by the Board to provide them
with the following information before a final decision will be made
regarding the use of corporate bonds by the company:
a. The types of securities that can be issued into the corporate bond
market and the attributes of these securities;
b. Reasons why debt raising from the bond market may be beneficial to
the company;
c. The main providers of such funds; and
d. Requirements of fund providers in the corporate bond market.
Universal
language of
business?
(again)

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Project Management
This is a undergrad assignment but its very complex assignment. Also, this is a group
assignment so it will take time to review and make changes because I have to discuss
to my group members
Your job is to:
Develop a project plan that will facilitate the implementation of the IT Systems required
by the new Perth Stadium. which will need to include the following sections:
1. Project Charter;
2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS);
3. WBS in MSProject / a-Time Allocation, b-Resource Allocation, c-Cost Calculation;
4. Quality Plan;
5. Team structure and policies documentation
6. Risk plan
Cheating within
a group setting

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Sustainable Architecture
I have my essay already by some writer and I want it to be rewrite again with my
standard
All the file that u need already in my post, including 2 article need to be use (PDF), the old
essay and the info for these article.
My standard is here:
* Same topic with my old essay, DON'T change the topic (sustainable Architecture is
important)
* Must include Chicago in-text references to at least 8 written academic texts.
* At least 2 of these academic texts must be scholarly journal articles accessed via a ___
library full-text database.
* Must Use those two articles that I find in ___ database.( In the attachment file that I post )
* Including introduction at the beginning and conclusion at the end
* 2000 words
Paid
$53 AUD
Rewrite an
essay

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Criteria Audit
You are to develop and submit the first part of your criteria audit report.
First, you need to select your audit topic. You can elect to do your
criteria audit on either:
a. Cholecystectomy criteria audit: using the records provided on
Blackboard and applying the criteria provided in Assessments on
Blackboard, audit the records to establish how well the hospital is
adhering to the guidelines for cholecystectomies set by the Royal
Australian College of Surgeons.
b. Health record audit: if you select this topic you will need to
undertake the audit using real hospital paper health records and
will be responsible for contacting the hospital
Paid $80 AUD
Future
surgeon?

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Requested by
Vipin85Gupta – a
known third party
subcontractor
Operating Systems
Small C Task on Operating system
The objective of this programming assignment is to give you some
experiences using POSIX
Pthreads library functions for thread creations and synchronizations. You
will learn how to create threads, synchronize then1, and solve the critical
section problems using pthread_create(), pthread_mutex_lock(),
pthread_mutex_unlock(), pthread_cond_wait(), pthread_cond_signal(), and
other functions for simulating a simple printer spooler.
Paid $45 USD

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Vipin85Gupta on Freelancer

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Observed Requests On Freelance Sites
Completing ‘pre-interview’ on-line aptitude tests for a candidate
Creating fake letters from an employer to support a student project
Making up reflective entries for a Personal Development Profile
Altering marks on an academic transcript
Producing fake certificates for completed courses

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(and even those assignment requests that can be seen are often not attributable)
Most assignment requests
are not put on outsourcing
sites like Freelancer, so
they’re never seen by a
contract cheating detective

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ACTIVITY
CONTRACT CHEATING
SCENARIOS

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Activity
In a small group, discuss the assigned scenario
Report back with a short summary of the issues raised
(and the possible solutions)

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FOR FURTHER
CONSIDERATION

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THE POLICIES OF ASSESSMENT
Run submitted student work
through Turnitin – it may
provide indications of contract
cheating
Examine work for signs
suggesting a different author
Create and (search for)
traceable assessments
Set original assessment tasks
Require staff to reflect on
how well assessment
reduces cheating
Use elements of unseen
assessment
Engage students throughout
the assessment process
Detection
Prevention
Use the prospect of detection as a method of prevention

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OPPORTUNITIES TO GET
MORE INVOLVED

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WA Forum On Contract Cheating
Thursday October 13, 2016
Curtin University
https://registrar.curtin.edu.au/events.cfm

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International Day
of Action Against
Contract Cheating
October 19, 2016
http://contractcheating.weebly.com

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Work With Me
(Speaking, PhD Supervision, Collaborations)
Contact Details
Email: thomas.lancaster@coventry.ac.uk
Website: http://thomaslancaster.co.uk
Blog: http://thomaslancaster.co.uk/blog
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thomaslancaster
Twitter: @DrLancaster
General Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_cheating
http://contractcheating.com
Contract Cheating Special Interest Group
(originally supported by the Higher Education Academy):
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/webadmin?A0=CONTRACTCHEATING
Slides available at http://www.slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster

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Continuing The Contract Cheating
Discussion
Why do we find
contract cheating for
some academic
subjects and not
others?
How can we work with
students to promote a
culture that
encourages academic
integrity?
What needs to be
done to make sure that
we are assessing the
ability of the students
registered on courses?
How can we adapt
academic processes to
ensure that contract
cheating cases are
always taken forward?
Is it possible to
systematically detect
contract cheating?
How can we find
funding and use this
effectively to explore
the issues surrounding
contract cheating?