Table 2 Profiles of the interviewed ghost-writers

Commercial Essay Provider 1^a

Email

YES (MSc)

YES (Bioinformatics)

Bioscience

Commercial Essay Provider 2^a

Email

YES (MSc)

NO

Various

Commercial Essay Provider 3^a

Email

YES (MA)

NO

Various

Amateur Writer 4^b

Face to face

YES (MSc)

NO

Bioscience

Commercial Essay Provider 5^a

Face to face

YES (MBA)

NO

Various

Amateur Writer 6^b

Face to face

YES (MSc)

NO

Various

Amateur Writer 7^b

Email

YES (MSc)

NO

Chemistry

Amateur Writer 8^b

Email

NO (BSc only)

NO

Engineering

Commercial Essay Provider 9^a

Face to face

YES (ND)

NO

Various

Commercial Essay Provider 10^a

Face to face

YES (ND)

NO

Various