Media Reference Guide
Turnitin’s Media Reference Guide is intended to support journalists covering contract cheating and Turnitin’s ongoing commitment to academic integrity.
Glossary of terms:
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Contract Cheating: the practice of students engaging a third-party individual or service to complete their written assessments.
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Ghostwriting: writing for some else; sometimes used as a synonym for “contract cheating” but also an acceptable practice in many professional contexts
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Academic Custom Writing Websites/ Paper Mills / Essay Mills: “business that allows customers to commission an original piece of writing on a particular topic so that they may commit academic fraud” (source: Essay Mill (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 27, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay_mill.)
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Plagiarism: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own (source: What is Plagiarism? (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism)
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Academic Integrity: a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility (source: ICAI, The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity (Oct. 1999). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/assets/FVProject.pdf)
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Accrediting Organization: is an organization accredited by a recognized accrediting body for its competence to audit and issue certification confirming that an organization meets the requirements of a standard (source: Accredited Registrar (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 27, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_registrar)
In the News
- New university plagiarism software to be launched in crackdown on 'contract' cheating
- Plagiarising just got a lot tougher in the UK
- Caution over Turnitin’s role in fight against essay mills
- The Ghost(writer) Busters: Can machine learning help in the fight against contract cheating?
- Turnitin Interview with Tricia Bertram Gallant
- How to Fight Back Against Ghost Writers
- How Twitter Hooks Up Students With Ghostwriters
- MyMaster essay cheating scandal: More than 70 university students face suspension
Reference Sources and Papers
- The infernal business of contract cheating: understanding the business processes and models of academic custom writing sites (2018)
- Are Essay Mills Committing Fraud An analysis of their behaviours vs the 2006 Fraud Act (UK) (2017)
- How Prevalent is Contract Cheating and to What Extent are Students Repeat Offenders? (2017)
- Contract Cheating and Essay Mills – Findings From Plagiarism Across Europe and Beyond 2017 (2017)
- Using Turnitin as a tool for attribution in cases of contract cheating (2016)
- Custom Essay Writers, Freelancers, and Other Paid Third Parties(2016)
- The New Challenges of Contract Cheating (2012)
- States with Statutes Against Contract Cheating (n.d)
Additional Resources