Dealing with Contract Cheating:
A Question Of Attribution
Thomas Lancaster & Robert Clarke
Birmingham City University
Contract Cheating
Academic Dishonesty
Differentiated from student plagiarism
Students get others to complete work on their behalf
Often for a fee (essay mills/auction sites)
Can be carried out by “technologically savvy” students
Contract Cheating
Contract Cheating History
Previous HEA reported studies have focused on the use of
the use of vWorker (formerly RentACoder) by students
15% of 2005 postings represented an attempt to cheat
Typical student posted between 4 and 7 assignments
Evidence of subcontractors found
90% of assignment specifications related to Computing and
Information Technology
Contract Cheating
Contract Cheating Problems
Detection of contract cheating is difficult
Original work is produced for a student
Not detected by TurnItIn
Acceptable evidence that work is unoriginal is hard to
gather
Attribution of a source institution by a detective is
challenging
Common assignments could be multiply sourced
Many assignment specifications are only internally available
Contract Cheating
Contract Cheating 2012 Style
“The Commercialisation Of Cheating”
Contract Cheating
EssayBay
Note – Study relates to 627 postings made on EssayBay
between March and July 2010
Around 10% of all postings made during that period
Site format currently unavailable due to restructuring
Examples collected during that period
Contract Cheating
About EssayBay
“EssayBay is a new worldwide service launched 1st September 2007 created
with you - the customer - firmly in mind. We wanted to make finding a great
writer quick and easy, something that traditional essay companies simply
cannot offer.
Set up by Barclay Littlewood and his team at the UK essay company Academic
Answers Ltd, Essay Bay offers a dramatic improvement to the quality of the
custom essay and term paper market, through direct competition of high
quality writers, feedback viewable by all and communication directly
between the writer and buyer, revolutionising the way people buy custom
writing online.
For the first time ever EssayBay connects writers with buyers that need custom
essays, term papers, theses and dissertations and allows writers to offer
their services directly based on the strength of their reputation and past
results. Much like an auction, projects are posted by buyers, and interested
writers bid on them. Buyers can see the qualifications of the writer, the
guarantees they offer, and the feedback they have received from other
buyers, before they choose to accept a bid.”
From http://essaybay.com/about.php
Essaybay – Buyers Information
“At last! Buy essay and term papers with complete confidence!
Pay only if you find the writer you want!
Money held in escrow - no risk.
Stay in touch with your writer.
Support team here if you need us!
Creating your EssayBay account is free and easy. You can post as many projects as you like without
any obligation. You don't have to accept any bids at all unless you are totally happy!
EssayBay was born for smart customers like you! Buyers that like to know what they are getting before
they pay!
Once you do choose a writer, we place your money safely in an escrow account. Once you get your
work, you release it as soon as you are satisfied. No risk, no hassles - just great work!
You get to talk with your writer directly through the project message board. You can exchange files
and information, ask them question, check on progress - anything.
If you have any problems or questions we are always here to help too! We have a great customer
service team on the phones and in an in house quality team that can review your work too!”
From http://www.essaybay.com/essay-buyers.php
Sample EssayBay posting
Writer selected
Fee placed in escrow account
Ratings show previous
postings have been made
Multiple subject
areas can be
selected
Level and standard
required can be defined
“PhD” Research Proposal #06979
(traced)
Topic: Examining human resource management (HRM)
practices across firms: implications for practice
Description: The intensification of such trends as
globalisation and outsourcing has resulted in the
emergence of new organisational forms of business; e.g.
the permeable organisation, the networked organisation,
and the project-based organisation. Increasingly, it is
inadequate to analyse business management practices
solely at the firm-level; these new organisational forms
challenge traditional notions of hierarchy, power and
control, and create a need to reconceptualise
management practices especially across firms.
Biology #05768
Experiment for Human Biology, i have to write
experiment for human biology and of course do this,
all work done just needs tidying up for me and when
experiment done conclusion written
Attached a 6 page, partly completed write-up of an experiment (extract below)
An Enzyme is a protein that catalyses a specific reaction in the body. In effect the enzyme “speeds up” the rate at which that reaction
would occur. The Enzyme itself will remain unchanged by the process.
Metabolism within the body involves many chemical reactions which are virtually all catalysed by an enzyme. The separate reactions can
be seen as steps upon a pathway, each needed in sequence so that a specific function can be performed. As such enzymes can be seen
as a control mechanism for the body’s metabolism. These reactions can be classed as either Anabolic (making things) or Catabolic
(breaking things down)
Enzymes are globular protein molecules with a complex 3D shape, within which is an area termed, “the active site”. Here another specific
molecule known as the “substrate”, which has an identical complimentary shape can temporarily bond to the enzyme in a similar manner
to a “lock and key” being uniquely matched. Now known as the Enzyme-substrate complex, a catalysed reaction can occur, such as
breaking down starch as in the case of Amylase. When this individual reaction is finished the product leaves the active site which is then
able to receive another substrate and repeat the process many times.
All these reactions are aimed at changing the substrate to a product. To do so an initial input of energy is required known as the activation
energy. It is known that higher temperatures increase the energy of each molecule and that therefore activation energy is affected by heat.
In effect, heating the substrate briefly will produce the activation energy needed to bring about the reaction. However the problem for
mammals such as humans is that increased body temperature can in fact be harmful. Enzymes overcome this problem as they can
catalyse the substrate by the needed activation energy at a decreased level. This allows the reaction to take place without a dangerous
increase in temperature.
Literature # 06850 (not traced)
Compose an eight-page Final Essay highlighting an element of literature (theme, character,
setting, conflicts, etc.) by using your choice of at least three (3) works from two genres to
support your ideas. (You could choose two poems and a play; two short stories and a
poem, a poem, a play, and a story, etc.) A scholarly study of literature connects or
compares works from different genres by using one literary element.
Solutions posted on StudentOfFortune, CourseHero, JustAnswer etc (About 878 results)
48 - English
www.coursehero.com/tutors/problems/English/471/
A scholarly study of literature connects or compares works from different genres by using one literary element.
This is your assignment: find a way to connect or ...
ENG 125 Ashford University Week 3 Rough Draft - StudentOfFortune ...
studentoffortune.com/.../ENG-125-Ashford-University-Week-3-Rou...
A scholarly study of literature connects or compares works from different genres by using one literary element.
This is your assignment: find a way to connect or ...
Intro to Literature Class - StudentOfFortune.com
studentoffortune.com/question/272042/Intro-to-Literature-Class
5 Feb 2010 – A scholarly study of literature connects or compares works from different genres by using one
literary element. This is your assignment: find a ...
Foreshadowing and Irony in Flannery O'Connor's Work Term Papers
www.papermasters.com › ... › American Literature
A scholarly study of literature connects or compares works from different genres by using one literary element.
This may be difficult but find a way to connect or ...
a Scholarly Study Of Literature Connects Or Compares wOrks From ...
www.oppapers.com/.../a-scholarly-study-of-literature-connects-or-co...
20+ items – ... a Scholarly Study Of Literature Connects Or Compares wOrks ...
Literature And My CommunityComparative Study Of Diesel Analysis By Ftir, Ftnir And Ft-Raman ...
Stuck on Literature homework.. Help? - Yahoo! Answers
answers.yahoo.com › ... › Homework Help
15 Mar 2010 – A scholarly study of literature connects or compares works from different genres by using one
literary element. This is your assignment: find a ...
Theology #06360 (not traced)
The paper should focus on the discrete aspect of Karol
Wojtyla/John Paul II's anthropology or ethics. This is a
reflection paper that analyzes his book "Love and
Responsibility" and Wojtyla's sexual ethic. Choose some
aspect of "Love and Responsibility" (such as the
personalistic norm, the nature of love, or chastity etc) to
write about and then also demonstrate the issue's
relationship to anthropology
I am not the smartest student in the class so please make
the paper believable (a 80%-90% grade range)
“sweetestgracie” posted 3
assignments (not traceable)
The history of the Idea of a World or Universal Government
I wanted to give the writer the choice of topic for the paper. I have a list of 100
possible topics to choose from. I need a research proposel by saturday, but the
actual paper isn't due for 3 more weeks. The research paper has to be 6-8
pages in body and have a bibliography with at least 5 scholarly sources.
2 page paper on something in US History since 1877 and why it is important. I am
not picky, but it needs to have scholarly resources and be 2 FULL pages of
body and have a bibliography page. It needs to be in Chicago Manuel style
format. It is due Sunday July 4th. I would like to have it on July 3rd because I
will be out of town on the 4th. Thank you
Research Paper Proposal
Name: Your name
Class: Your class
Title: Title of your paper
Subject: Subject of your paper
Thesis Statement: Thesis statement (i.e. The sentence or two that will sum up what your paper is about)
Outline: Main points you will discuss in your paper.
Sources (you need at least 5): What books, websites, articles, etc will you use?
EssayBay Subjects
Contract Cheating
Prolific Writers
These aliases provided over 50% of the solutions on EssayBay
It is likely that some represent teams of writers
Acdemicwriter
johnny_outsmart
Jane-82
Expert Writer
Out of 627 postings
made in the sample
period, 345 had
“writers” selected
rafia
homework helper
bmwriter
Apakshit
girlfriday0104
Essaybay Writer
0
10
20
30
40
Number of “commissions” accepted
50
Top 20 Buyers
Each of these “buyers” posted 5 or more assignments
They account for 25% of the postings made in the sample
Most are likely to be “third-party sub-contractors”
chunjt
junjun6858
dc523680
lolab
whackyjames
eylt666
tiffany
powersurg
jay
oggiedan
crombie1976
y2k_alk
sarobins
manchester69
williams
1951eu
1212
aldomar
bloodmoney81
kittsubasa
323 individuals
made
627 postings in the
sample period
0
5
10
15
Number of assignments posted
20
25
30
EssayBay Analysis
71.0% of postings at undergraduate level
21.2% at Masters level
23.7% of postings “attributable”
Source institution identifiable
Contract Cheating
Proposed Attributability Factors
Searchability – the extent to which an assignment
specification or the institution from which its taken can be
found online
Individuality – how well an assignment specification can
be distinguished from others on a similar topic
Contract Cheating
To Attribute An Assignment
Specification
High values are needed for both searchability and
individuality
Generally, many assignment specifications are not produced in this
way
Contract Cheating
Recommendations
Continue to monitor the “latest trends” in online cheating
Use assessment practices that limit the chance to cheat
and the usefulness of cheating
Encourage all institutions and departments to consider
attributability
No reuse of old assignment specifications/textbook examples
Make assignment specifications searchable on Google or TurnItIn
Use unique tags
Use visible and invisible watermarks
Contract Cheating
Contract Cheating Special Interest
Group
Funded by HEA Computer Science Discipline
First Meeting:
Friday 22 June 2012
Birmingham City University
Contact – thomas.lancaster@bcu.ac.uk
Contract Cheating
Thank You
Any Questions?
Contract Cheating
More Examples
The examples are not part of the presentation, but are
included to illustrate the range of assignment
specifications observed on EssayBay
Contract Cheating
Anthropology #06942 (not traced)
Topic: a.) Select a topic or issue you would find within a culture
(i.e. art forms, health issues, family relations, hairstyles, food,
symbolism, beliefs). Select any topic that you think could
capture your interest: warfare, transportation, political systems,
money, styles of dress – there is no limit. b.) Once you have
selected a topic or issue, select a living culture and discuss
your selected topic or issue within that culture. For instance,
you may be interested in the rise of diabetes in indigenous
people such as the Kayapo, or the educational boundaries of
women in the Middle East. Or you may compare and contrast
two cultures with the same issue, such as the role of
adolescence in the United States and China, or the comparison
between the Amish consumption and labor to that of their
neighboring cities. Be sure to choose a culture(s) appropriate
for a study within cultural anthropology (a study of living
people).
Thesis: Develop a clear thesis statement/topic sentence. This will
become the point or perspective you will compare or discuss in
the paper.
Linguistics #05133 (traced)
Write an essay in answer to ONE 1 of the questions on Section 1, Section 2
OR Section 3 of the sample exam paper.
SECTION 1 PRESERVATION OF LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE-PLANNING
1.‘The perceived need to protect the French language is not new.’ Discuss.
2.‘The Loi Toubon masquerades as consumer protection, but its purpose lies
elsewhere.’ Discuss.
SECTION 2 CONTRASTING SPOKEN AND WRITTEN FRENCH Examples from
modern French should be given, transcribed using the International Phonetic
Alphabet where appropriate. 4. ‘Gender and number are marked in spoken and
written French, but to different extents and following different rules.’ Discuss. 5.
‘Inflexional changes in written French often fail to be made in spoken French.’
Discuss. 6. ‘Spoken and written French make use of a range of different
morpheme types in their marking of gender and number.’ Discuss.
SECTION 3 COORDINATION IN SPEECH Examples from modern French should
be given, transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet where
appropriate. 7. Assess the impact of consonantal assimilation on the
pronunciation of French today. 8. ‘Syllables are central to any understanding of
assimilation.’ Discuss. 9. Discuss the influence of register on the types of
assimilation likely to occur in spoken French.
Theatre Studies #07010
"descibe and critique key problems documentarians
face in dealing with tensions between reality and
fiction?“
Traced through course notes attached to posting
Criminology #06545 (traced)
Critiquing Published Research ON "SELF HELP AS AN EXPLANATION FOR
VIOLENCE AMONG FEMALE INMATES BY M.DYAN MCGUIRE!!
methodological review THESE POINTS HAVE TO BE INCLUDED
OTHERWISE NO PAYMENT!!!!
Scope and Objectives:  What are the objectives of the study?  Do these
change over time? (This may be particularly relevant if the methodological
approach is qualitative, which should be sufficiently flexible to incorporate
issues arising in the conduct of the research that may not have been
considered at the planning stage.)  Is the study attempting to test a particular
theory or is it theory building?  What is the theoretical context and is this
obvious? (Perhaps the study is more descriptive and the theoretical context is
less obvious.)
2.Methods Used Here we are looking at the manner in which the research was
designed and the data collected.  What was the population?  How was the
sample selected?  Which technique was used?  What type of data was
collected, qualitative, quantitative or both?  What method was used (survey,
documentary analysis etc.)?  What information is given about the process of
data collection, for example where and how were interviews conducted? 
How was the data analysed and how is it presented and summarised in the
article?
Education #01384 (Traced but no contact info
found)
SUBDOMAIN 601.3 - DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
SUBDOMAIN 601.4 - SCHOOLS & SOCIETY
Competency 601.3.3: Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and
Acceptance
Full text below ....
Traced to WGU.EDU
5 other WGU assignments detected
on Essaybay during the sampling
period
Education #01384 (Google search)
Google finds multiple matches to this assignment (March 2012)
Searched on term “Create a concept map or an outline for each culture”
Includes pre-written solutions
Examples below (About 918 results)
Important Aspects of Each Culture Research Paper | Free Term ...
www.papermasters.com › ... › History Term Papers
Create a concept map or an outline for EACH culture. Identify common themes, concepts, and ideas. For example,
your concept map or outline may include such ...
n this task, you will use selected reso - StudentOfFortune.com
studentoffortune.com/question/.../In-this-task-you-will-use-selected-r...
30 Nov 2011 – C. Create a concept map or an outline for each culture (two maps or outlines total). Each concept map
or outline should represent at least three ...
Political Science | assignmentHOLE.com: Assignment Help | Page 5
https://www.assignmenthole.com/category/political-science/page/5/
3 Nov 2009 – Create a concept map or an outline for each culture (two maps or outlines total) and upload them with
your research paper. Each concept map ...
hi! looking for help on an essay:brcompetency 601.3.3: cultural ...
expresshelpline.com/support-question-503963.html
... which are available on the internet at sites indicated by *.gov rather than *.com or *.edu.br brc. create a concept map
or an outline for each culture (two maps ...
Minority Culture Essay | Academic Writing
www.freelancer.co.uk/projects/.../Minority-Culture-Essay.html
C. Create a concept map or an outline for each culture (two maps or outlines total) and upload them with your
research paper. Each concept map or outline ...
Information Technology # 06311
(traced)
Contents of attachment
Analyse the regulatory problems and options relating to your chosen issue in the light of the positions of different actors
and what you have learned about regulatory principles and what influences regulatory outcomes.
Marks will be awarded for:
good structure and coherent development of an argument
general themes and theories being illustrated by specific examples
evaluation of both technical and socio-economic factors
use of your own words and thoughts to explain the ideas in the essay
evidence of wide reading and research, shown through a bibliography and appropriate references in the text
So we only have to choose one topic, access, security, openness or diversity.
The PDF file has other references that you can refer to!!
You can use my Athens account to find more resources and lecture notes can be supplied to give you a brief
description of what the module is about!!
The same person went on to post 6 assignments on Essaybay during sample
period
Two of these assignments were also posted by another student
Masters level (Architecture) # 06041 (traced)
This is a pilot study for an essay proposal I have made. We are
supposed to make an essay for this subject at the end of the
semester and the definition of the pilot study is:
A small-sized paper (1,000 w + footnotes & bib.), on a core
area of your project.
For example, if you want to review a scholar’s theory
manifested in three books, you may choose to
focus on one book or a core part of the book first; while the
rest may be covered in the final paper.
Pilot study serves as a ‘test’; it provides an experiment and
allows you to change or modify the shape
of your final project (the scope, the topic, the question etc).
Nursing degree # 07029 traced
research based proposal to introduce patient acuity
and dependency tools within nhs trust based on
current research. Identification of themes identified
due to low staffing
Traced by details in attachment
Business studies # 06724 (not traced)
Take Home Exam
An Innocent Abroad: Fred Bailey in Tokyo Case Study Analysis based on
Cross Cultural Management view point (using Hofstede's Cultural
Indices and MBI Frame work)
Google finds About 181,000 results – examples:Essay: An Innocent Abroad -A Case Study in Cross-Cultural ...
www.coursework.info › GCSE › Business Studies › People in BusinessSimilar
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28 Jan 2005 – here's a short preview of this essay with formatting removed for you to read. Have a little read: ... Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad -A Case ...
Essay: An Innocent Abroad Fred Bailey in Tokyo
speedyessay.com/essay-an-innocent-abroad-fred-bailey-in-tokyo/Cached
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This case study talks about an expatriate employee Fred Bailey's experience during his assignment in Japan. Fred's company offers him a proposition that is ...
Assignments for 6K:201
dollar.biz.uiowa.edu/col/ye/6k201/assignment.htmlCached - Similar
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Reading: Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad ... Is there anything you could do to prepare Fred Bailey differently in "Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad"? Research a ... PDF]
Faculty of Business Administration Memorial University of ...
www.busi.mun.ca/sksaha/b9020/B9020_CO_W2011.pdf
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Competitive Frontiers: Women Managing Across Borders. (Reading # 2.3, MOS ). Case Analysis: Case 2.3, Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad on (MOS). Case 2.2 ...
BMA777 International Human Resource Management Semester 2 ...
www.utas.edu.au/mgmt/Documents/.../BMA777_Unit_Outline.pdfSimilar
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
own; for example downloading an essay from a cheat site, copying another student's .... FRED BAILEY: AN INNOCENT ABROAD—A CASE STUDY IN CROSS- ...