Qualitative Analysis of Students' Experiences with Outsourcing Thesis Writing

Dissertation outsourcing, a severe form of contract cheating and ghostwriting, poses a significant threat to academic integrity and the credibility of higher education both in Iran and globally.This issue has intensified over recent decades with the growth of the black market for dissertation writing in Iran, underscoring the need to explore its underlying motives.This qualitative study employed thematic analysis to investigate the experiences of 13 master's degree students from Isfahan universities who had entirely outsourced their dissertations.Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Brown and Clarke's (2012) six-step approach.The findings were distilled into six main themes: "Meaningless thesis," "Challenging daily life," "Culture of cheating," "Communication disorder," "Learning challenges," and "Decline of scientific values."The results revealed that outsourcing stems from a complex interplay of individual factors (e.g., financial difficulties, inadequate research skills) and environmental factors (e.g., weak academic supervision, commodification of education).Unlike previous studies that concentrated on structural factors, this research delved into the lived experiences of students within the socio-cultural context of Iran using a qualitative approach, highlighting the influence of teacher-student relationships and the culture of cheating.The findings underscore the necessity to redefine the role of the thesis, enhance supervision, and instill scientific ethics to prevent such fraud.This study contributes to educational policy-making aimed at combating ghostwriting and lays the groundwork for future research on the role of technology and gender differences.