Abstract

This article analyses the advertisements inserted in search engines of Spanish academic services websites in 2018 and 2019. Content analysis of these advertisements, conducted through the use of Semrush (Search Engine Optimization SEO and Search Engine Marketing SEM audit platform), shows that a large number of platforms offer to write academic essays for students (mostly bachelor’s and master's dissertations). This implies fraud in the evaluation and behaviour contrary to the principles of academic integrity. Law, psychology, economics, education and engineering are the degrees that appear in the advertisements of a great number of platforms. Slogans and information placed by these platforms primarily focus on extolling the quality and originality of the essays and pointing out the confidentiality, speed, professionalism and low cost of the service offered. The results provide evidence of the need to establish legal limits on advertising that implies a clear incitement to fraud in academic evaluations. In addition, the findings highlight the need to improve awareness among students that emphasises the dimension of the ethical use of information and opens a field of study to which more attention should be devoted from a research perspective and in academic policies.

摘要

本文分析了 2018 年和 2019 年在西班牙学术服务网站的搜索引擎中插入的广告。通过使用 Semrush（搜索引擎优化 SEO 和搜索引擎营销 SEM 审计平台）对这些广告进行的内容分析表明，大量的平台提供为学生撰写学术论文（主要是学士和硕士论文）。这意味着评估中的欺诈和违反学术诚信原则的行为。法学、心理学、经济学、教育学、工程学是众多平台广告中出现的学位。这些平台发布的口号和信息主要集中在赞美文章的质量和原创性，并指出机密性、速度、所提供服务的专业性和低成本。结果证明需要对广告建立法律限制，这意味着在学术评估中明显煽动欺诈。此外，研究结果强调了提高学生意识的必要性，强调信息的道德使用维度，并开辟了一个研究领域，应该从研究角度和学术政策中给予更多关注。