Outsourcing Assignments? Exposing The Threat Posed By Contract Cheating To The Computing Industry - BCS Wolverhampton - 24 April 2013

@MyBCU www.facebook.com/birminghamcityuniversity #contractcheating 1
Outsourcing Assignments? Exposing
The Threat Posed By Contract
Cheating To The Computing
Industry
Thomas Lancaster & Robert Clarke
BCS Wolverhampton
Wednesday, 24 April 2013

A Bit Of Background

What We’re Covering…
An introduction to contract cheating, suitable
for both IT practitioners and academics
(not a research heavy talk, but our research has
informed the session)
The focus is on:
Examples of contract cheating
Extent and areas of contract cheating
Introduction to the detection of contract cheating
Recommendations for the IT sector

Who Are We?
Dr. Thomas Lancaster
Senior Lecturer in Computing
PhD “Effective And Efficient
Plagiarism Detection”
CD BSc Computer Science
Robert Clarke
Educational Consultant
Visiting Lecturer/Principal Lecturer
30 Years Experience Teaching At BCU
“Detective Bob”

Introduction

Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
If you could have someone do your job for you?!

US Employee ‘Outsourced
Job To China’
“A security check on a US company has reportedly
revealed one of its staff was outsourcing his work to
China.
The software developer, in his 40s, is thought to have
spent his workdays surfing the web, watching cat
videos on YouTube and browsing Reddit and eBay.
He reportedly paid just a fifth of his six-figure salary to
a company based in Shenyang to do his job.”
BBC News, 16 January 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21043693

Cat Videos?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cat+videos

Hiring Workers Can Be
Legitimate
http://www.freelancer.com

Outsourcing Websites Can
Be Useful…
For Companies
Bring in technical skills that
you the company lacks
Reduce administrative
workloads
Use workers from cost-
effective economies
Get more projects completed
For Contractors
Find additional work
Make longer-term contacts
Access jobs outside your local
area
Develop a part-time income
Get positive testimonials

Leads To A Competitive
Tender Process
http://www.freelancer.com/projects/PHP-Java/find-code-location-within-image.html

Where Contract Cheating
Comes In…

The Problem?
http://www.freelancer.com/projects/Financial-Research-Finance/word-essay-finance-trade.html

Project Description:
2500 words;
Due in 5 days;
High quality;
Zero Plagiarism;
Send me PM about your background and qualifications and I
will send you file details.
There will be a steady stream of essays, and I look forward to
long term cooperation if this one is good.
Skills required:
Academic Writing, Business Analysis, Finance, Financial
Markets, Financial Research

We Also Know…
(as of 23 April 2013)

And Previously…

52 Bidding

Including…

Currently Working On…

What We Have Is Known
As Contract Cheating
Contract cheating occurs when a student has
original work produced for them, which they
then submit for academic credit

How Students Cheat

Categories Of University
Coursework Cheating
Collusion
copying from students
in same cohort
Contract
Cheating
work is produced by
an external agent
Plagiarism
copying from books
or internet

More Contract Cheating
Sources
Friends and family
“Will you help me – you’ve studied this before?”
Explicit Essay Writing Sites
“How much will my essay cost?”
Private Tutors
“Will you come, teach me and help me to write this?”

Essay Mills Come In All
Types

This Is What The BBC Think
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20330590

The Biggest Problem With
Contract Cheating?
If work has been produced using contract
cheating methods, it is entirely original
It won’t be detected using plagiarism detection
systems, such as TurnItIn
A (labour-intensive) detective role is required

Example Turnitin

Example JPlag
JPlag is a system that finds similarities
among multiple sets of source code
files.
JPlag does not merely compare bytes of
text, but is aware of programming
language syntax and program structure
and hence is robust against many kinds
of attempts to disguise similarities
between plagiarized files.
JPlag currently supports
Java, C#, C, C++, Scheme and natural
language text.

Plagiarism and Collusion
Detection
Student
assignments
Internet
Search
Engines
Non-originality
Engine
Database of
previously
scanned
student work
xxx xxxx
xxxx xxx x x
x x xx x x x
x x x x x x x
Non-originality
Report

Detection
Student
assignments
Internet
Search
Engines
Non-originality
Engine
Database of
previously
scanned
student work
xxx xxxx
xxxx xxx x x
x x xx x x x
x x x x x x x
Non-originality
ReportDetection of “non-original”
work relies on being able to
compare an assignment
against other sources.

Detection
Student
assignments
Internet
Search
Engines
Non-originality
Engine
Database of
previously
scanned
student work
xxx xxxx
xxxx xxx x x
x x xx x x x
x x x x x x x
Non-originality
ReportDetection of “non-original”
work relies on being able to
compare an assignment
against other sources.
Work produced by “contract
cheating” is original – but it was
not done by the student.

The Extent Of Contract
Cheating

Is Contract Cheating Really
Much Of A Problem?
Freelancer (+ previously
vWorker)
main sites we examine
easy to search
give most details of users
tracking sub-contractors
vWorker
has “no homework”policy
but closed auctions
Kasamba (Liveperson)
“tutorial” site
Student Of Fortune + Transtutors
sells HW solutions
17
25
103
216
291
721
1178
5432
6455
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TRANSTUTOR
S
ODESK
OTHER
KASAMBA
SCRIPTLANCE
ESSAYBAY
GETACODER
VWORKER
FREELANCER
Postings by source 2005-2012
Total of 14,438 detected items

Extent of Contract Cheating
Country nCases %
USA 459 50%
United Kingdom 239 26%
Australia 101 11%
Canada 61 7%
Other 34 4%
Turkey 18 2%
Total 912 100%
Number of cases of Contract Cheating by Country where the source was identified
(912 cases from Mar 04 to Oct 06)
The “average student” posts between 4 and 7 assignments
R. Clarke, and T. Lancaster, “Eliminating the Successor to Plagiarism? Identifying the usage of contract cheating sites”, in
Proceedings of 2nd International Plagiarism Conference, Gateshead, United Kingdom, June 19-21, 2006

Original Survey of
Rentacoder
The “average” student posts 4-7 assignments
They are not getting detected
They are getting “value for money”
Source mostly courses in English language
Mostly USA, UK, Australia
Other countries run courses in English
Turkey shows up because material is easily Googled
Small number of high number of postings
Identifies “contractors” who do post work for others
Usually work from different colleges and subjects

Types of Assignments Posted - Computing
Only
Assessing Contract Cheating Through Auction Sites – A Computing Perspective, Lancaster, T and Clarke, R.
8th Annual Conference of the Higher Education Academy for Information and Computer Sciences, August 2007
(910 cases from Mar 04 to Dec 06)

Larger RentACoder Study
(2007)
Mostly computing topics (910 out of 950)
Reflects bias in website name (does what it says on the tin)
Programming in C++/Java most common type
Reflects the types of assignments we post (40%)
32 “Major projects” were detected
Only 3.5% overall in this survey
But 9.5% (22 out of 231) bid requests from UK
Average number of postings per student down
Because we are detecting more first-time offenders?
Wider awareness of the problem
More students starting to use outsourcing

EssayBay Study (2010)
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
Postings by UCAS Subject Category
Dealing with Contract Cheating: A Question of Attribution;
Lancaster & Clarke; HEA STEM Conference April 2012
(627 cases in 5 months)

EssayBay Study (2010)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
International Bacc
PhD ?
GNVQ
Advanced Placement
PhD
High Sch
GCSE A/A2
Masters
Undergraduate
Postings by level

EssayBay - conclusions
First study of a web-site dedicating to enabling contract
cheating
Rentacoder (now vWorker) 85% legitimate work
Site ceased fully functioning in Aug 2010
Shows wide range of subjects involved
Maths & Computing only 5%
Business Studies main category (25%)
Everything from “anthropology to theology”
Range of levels of work
Difficult to verify (mostly self-reported by student)
Significant number at Masters level (21%)
Some PhD requests – mostly research proposals

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.

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)

EssayBay
Analysis by Source Institution
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Unknown
AUS
CAN
UK
USA
76%
Only 24% of postings traced back to their originating institutions
“Attributability” of assignments is a key factor

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

Detecting Contract Cheating

Stages of Detection and
AttributionAssignments
Posted
Source
Attributed
Student
Identified
1 in 3 postings
detected
1 in 3
attributed
1 in 3
students found
1 in 27
cheaters
dealt with

Methods of Attribution
Google search
Text in the body of the posting
Text in attachments
May also use Turnitin
Alias used by student
Also used on social networking sites
Gives details of location
Photo used by student
Usually relies on trace evidence
use text editor to examine files
Multiple postings may be needed
By same student over a period of time
By different students at same time
May need to use several items
e.g. module code + location

Closing the Loop
The “Holy Grail” is to get hold of the original the student bought
Contact the auction site
they will claim client confidentiality without a court order
Bid for your own assignment (“Doin’ a Dan”)
but could be “entrapment”; evidence could be “tainted”
Post the assignment yourself and select the same coder
expect a similar solution to be provided
Pay the coder to hand over the original
unlikely to succeed – unless student is in dispute with coder
If the coder is a student at another institution
contact the HoD and persuade the coder to hand over the items

A New Success? - Assignment Briefs
on Turnitin
Small %ages can
be significant
matches occurs
when student paper
contains parts of
assignment brief
We recommend that staff upload
assignment briefs to Turnitin as soon as
the assignment is released to students

Upcoming Challenges

Students Can Be Sophisticated
VB.net Help
Rentacoder Bid Request Id: 456292
I need help with VB.net i will be having a online quizz quizz its not a
programming or something like that
it will be multiple choice questions
and this online quiz will be 50 MINs and it i will start at 9.30 PM please check
the time at http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_US-TX.aspx so
i will chat from MSN and i will ask question with the multiple choice and you
answer the questions
the topics will be ( but there will be no programming questions like do the
program or something like that all will be multiple choice questions) if you are
know about all this topic please bid with confident

Does Anyone Lose Out
With Contract Cheating?
Student – they have not gained the skills for the
job
University – perception of poor quality students
Employer – wasted recruitment cost
Society – perception that students are not hard
workers, as portrayed by the media
Professional Bodies – ethical considerations, risk
to accreditation

Not Victimless - Example 1
ASSINMENT TITLE:
Models of death and dying and grief and loss
enhance our understanding of and guide the
delivery of palliative care practice.
Critically analyse this statement with reference to
the provision of palliative care to individuals with a
life limiting illness and their families.
Would you like to
be treated by this
nurse?

Radar system design
The design of Air-Traffic-Control radar system. The proposed
system should have the capability to detect common civilian
aircraft within a range of 100km.
The proposal should consist of detail description of the radar
subsystem which includes antenna system, transmitter, receiver
and data acquisition unit. All necessary calculations based on the
specification provided, system block diagram, component level
block diagram, and all the components used in the design must
be included in the proposal.
Could you rely on
this technician?

Nuclear 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
Do you want to
live within 5 miles
of this person?

Not Only Assignments
She posted work-related items as well
Systems Development paper
Select a sample system for
development that would benefit a
business of your choice. Prepare a
plan for determining the feasibility
of the systems development.
Present and explain both business
and system planning documents
and/or templates that allows you
to state the objectives, goals and
tactics. Explain how they are used
and show examples. Please
comment on how you would
present risks and mitigation
strategies to users.
1400-2450 words.
UOP assignment
DB help
I need help with an exisiting database form. The form
needs to be searchable by patient name. And the
follow-up visits section shows 3 slots they would rather
have one that shows ALL the follow-up visits. Let me
know if more info is needed. The database information
is CONFIDENTIAL. Thanks
1600 “live”
oncology records
from hospital in
California

Other Requests to
“Outsource”
Completion of “pre-interview” on-line aptitude tests
Fake letters from an employer supporting a student
project
Make up entries for a Personal Development Profile
Alter the marks on a Transcript of Study
Produce fake “course completion” certificates

And It’s Not Just Contract
Cheating…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-22269573
“University of Bath student jailed
over tutor bribe bid”
“A failing student who tried to bribe his tutor while carrying a
loaded air pistol has been jailed for 12 months.
Yang Li, 26, placed £5,000 in cash on the professor's table but
when he was told to leave, the gun fell from his pocket…”
BBC News – 23 April, 2013

Recommendations

The Future?
The challenge of contract cheating needs to pull together
students, academics and industry
Real case studies and industry assessments are valued inside the
classroom
Universities struggling against increased on-line, distance
learning and franchise activities
An increased number of contractors providing solutions
opened up through the Internet
More robust (and automated) models of detection needed
Still need to increase awareness (“My students don’t do
this!”)

It’s Not all Sophisticated…

Further Resources

For More Information
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_cheating
Contract Cheating Special Interest Group (support by the Higher
Education Academy):
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/webadmin?A0=CONTRACTCHEATING
Slides Available At:
http://www.slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster

Our Contact Details
Thomas Lancaster
Email: thomas.lancaster@bcu.ac.uk
Website: http://thomaslancaster.co.uk
Twitter: @DrLancaster
Robert Clarke
Email: robert.clarke@bcu.ac.uk

Questions?

Outsourcing Assignments? Exposing The Threat Posed By Contract Cheating To The Computing Industry - BCS Wolverhampton - 24 April 2013

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