Growing research collection

Selected papers and research

This is a non-exhaustive starting selection of 12 source-checked publications, not a complete bibliography. Many more papers on contract cheating have been published, including since 2021, and this collection will continue to grow.

A growing chronological selection

  1. Clarke, R. & Lancaster, T. (2006). "Eliminating the successor to plagiarism? Identifying the usage of contract cheating sites." 2nd International Plagiarism Conference, Newcastle. (Origin paper - term "contract cheating" coined.)

    https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Eliminating-the-successor-to-plagiarism-Identifying-Clarke/8c761e6f528a3c0f963d2d5c37bd9a723dcef115

  2. Clarke, R. & Lancaster, T. (2007). "Establishing a Systematic Six-Stage Process for Detecting Contract Cheating." ICPCA07, Birmingham City University.

    https://thomaslancaster.co.uk/research/

  3. Walker, M. & Townley, C. (2012). "Contract cheating: a new challenge for academic honesty?" Journal of Academic Ethics, 10(1), 27-44. DOI: 10.1007/s10805-012-9150-y.

    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-012-9150-y

  4. Rigby, D., Burton, M., Balcombe, K., Bateman, I. & Mulatu, A. (2015). "Contract cheating & the market in essays." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 111, 23-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2014.12.019.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268114003321

  5. Curtis, G. J. & Clare, J. (2017). "How Prevalent Is Contract Cheating and to What Extent Are Students Repeat Offenders?" Journal of Academic Ethics, 15(2), 115-124. DOI: 10.1007/s10805-017-9278-x.

    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-017-9278-x

  6. Draper, M. J. & Newton, P. M. (2017). "A legal approach to tackling contract cheating?" International Journal for Educational Integrity, 13, article 11. DOI: 10.1007/s40979-017-0022-5.

    https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s40979-017-0022-5

  7. Newton, P. M. (2018). "How Common Is Commercial Contract Cheating in Higher Education and Is It Increasing? A Systematic Review." Frontiers in Education, 3:67. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2018.00067.

    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2018.00067/full

  8. Bretag, T. et al. (2019). "Contract cheating: a survey of Australian university students." Studies in Higher Education, 44(11), 1837-1856. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788.

    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788

  9. Bretag, T. et al. (2019). "Contract cheating and assessment design: exploring the relationship." Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(5), 676-691.

    https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/contract-cheating-and-assessment-design-exploring-the-relationshi

  10. Amigud, A. & Lancaster, T. (2019). "246 reasons to cheat: An analysis of students' reasons for seeking to outsource academic work." Computers & Education, 134, 98-107. DOI (see ScienceDirect):

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131519300235

  11. Eaton, S. E. et al. (2019). "Academic integrity and contract cheating policy analysis of colleges in Ontario, Canada." International Journal for Educational Integrity, 15, article 9.

    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-019-0042-4

  12. Lancaster, T. & Cotarlan, C. (2021). "Contract cheating by STEM students through a file sharing website: a Covid-19 pandemic perspective." International Journal for Educational Integrity, 17, article 3. DOI: 10.1007/s40979-021-00070-0.

    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-021-00070-0

Collection continues

These 12 publications are the first entries in a broader research collection. They do not represent all contract cheating research, and 2021 is not an end point. Additional foundational and recent papers will be added as the collection grows.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a complete bibliography of contract cheating research?

No. It is a starting selection of 12 source-checked publications. Many more papers exist and will be added as the collection is expanded.

Did research into contract cheating end in 2021?

No. The current starting selection happens to include publications up to 2021. Later research will be added as the collection grows.

How to cite this page

Suggested citation:

ContractCheating.com. (2026). Selected papers and research. https://contractcheating.com/key-papers