Ghostwriting:On the ethics of hiring a company to perform research and writing for doctoral and masters students

There's a right way and a wrong way to perform research and writing services for advanced degree-seeking students...

Today I received another request for quote to perform research and writing for a doctoral student who would like to submit the ghostwritten work under his name for course credit. Let's talk about that, briefly...

Ghostwriting has its rightful place (in business or book writing, for example, but NOT in academia for graded work).  Vellichor Research is not an essay mill. We will not take on such work and it saddens me that there are companies and freelancers who participate in such unethical activity.  What is even sadder is that a  college "degree" is often considered an entitlement and a commodity-for-purchase by a growing number of students. The problem of academic misconduct and dishonesty is pervasive. One study published in 2017 found that 3.5% of students (n=1378) self-reported engaging in contract cheating (i.e., plagiarism via paid ghostwriting).  Of those, the majority (62.5%) did so more than once. (Curtis & Clare, 2017).  I know this to be true as a college professor, myself --- witness to it more times than I like to count over many years.

For the love of scholarly research, the honor of higher education, and in an effort to inspire a community of original thinkers... my suggestion to students is this:

First, I understand the enormity of pressure you feel.  If you are a student with a daunting research/writing project  who feels "stuck" on the assignment, inept, and time-pressured.... rethink the consequences of hiring a professional researcher/ writer to complete your assignment. Instead, seek tutoring help, editing help, collaboration and counsel for hire. You will grow immensely as a scholar if you take the high road of integrity.

Contact us if we can serve you in this learning capacity as described above (editing and consulting). We uphold the Academic Honesty Policies of universities and colleges and can absolutely be of benefit to you. Vellichor Research can help students with their project! We'll provide leadership, guidance and support WITH YOU as you navigate your advanced studies. We just won't do it FOR you.  

References

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.

Cartoon Source:
​Connor Ullman