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Are Online Exams an Invitation to Cheat?

Author

Listed:
  • Oskar R. Harmon

    (University of Connecticut)

  • James Lambrinos

    (Union University)

Abstract

This study uses data from two online courses in principles of economics to estimate a model that predicts exam scores from independent variables of student characteristics. In one course the final exam was proctored, in the other course the final exam was not proctored, and in both courses the first three exams were unproctored. If no cheating took place we expect the prediction model to have the same explanatory power for all exams, and conversely, if cheating occurred in the unproctored exam the explanatory power would be lower. Our findings are that both across and within class variations in the R-squared statistic suggest that cheating was taking place when the exams were not proctored.

Suggested Citation

  • Oskar R. Harmon & James Lambrinos, 2006. "Are Online Exams an Invitation to Cheat?," Working papers 2006-08, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2007.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2006-08
    Note: Forthcoming in Journal of Economic Education
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coates, Dennis & Humphreys, Brad R. & Kane, John & Vachris, Michelle A., 2004. ""No significant distance" between face-to-face and online instruction: evidence from principles of economics," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 533-546, October.
    2. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    3. Michelle Albert Vachris, 1999. "Teaching Principles of Economics without “Chalk and Talk”: The Experience of CNU Online," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 292-303, January.
    4. Byron W. Brown & Carl E. Liedholm, 2002. "Can Web Courses Replace the Classroom in Principles of Microeconomics?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 444-448, May.
    5. Peter Navarro, 2000. "Economics in the Cyberclassroom," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 119-132, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Young, Jeffrey S., 2020. "No Honor Among Cheaters: A “Prisoner’s Dilemma” Approach to Reduce Cheating in Online Classes," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 2(5), December.
    2. Cheryl J. Wachenheim, 2009. "Final Exam Scores in Introductory Economics Courses: Effect of Course Delivery Method and Proctoring," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 640-652.
    3. James Bierstaker & William D. Brink & Sameera Khatoon & Linda Thorne, 2024. "Academic Fraud and Remote Evaluation of Accounting Students: An Application of the Fraud Triangle," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(2), pages 425-447, November.
    4. Dr Greg Ekeh & Dr George C. Okpara & Aoysius Ezeanolue, 2024. "Strategies for Enhancing Academic Honesty as an Ethical Concern in E-Learning in Tertiary Institutions: A Philosophical Perspective," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 11(2), pages 163-174, February.
    5. Mary Mathewes Kassis, 2011. "Distance Education: Course Development and Strategies for Success," Chapters, in: Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick (ed.), International Handbook on Teaching and Learning Economics, chapter 14, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Dench, Daniel & Joyce, Theodore, 2022. "Information and credible sanctions in curbing online cheating among undergraduates: A field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 408-427.
    7. Fisher, Elizabeth & McLeod, Alexander J. & Savage, Arline & Simkin, Mark G., 2016. "Ghostwriters in the cloud," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 59-71.
    8. Wuthisatian, Rattaphon, 2020. "Student exam performance in different proctored environments: Evidence from an online economics course," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    9. Hill, Andrew J. & LoPalo, Melissa, 2024. "The effects of online vs in-class testing in moderate-stakes college environments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Vazquez, Jose J. & Chiang, Eric P. & Sarmiento-Barbieri, Ignacio, 2021. "Can we stay one step ahead of cheaters? A field experiment in proctoring online open book exams," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Catherine Cleophas & Christoph Hönnige & Frank Meisel & Philipp Meyer, 2023. "Who’s Cheating? Mining Patterns of Collusion from Text and Events in Online Exams," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 84-94, January.
    12. Hoque, Nazmul & Basher, Syed Abul & A.K. Enamul, Haque, 2022. "Do Students Perform Better in Online Delivery of Education? Evidence from Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 112981, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Oskar R. Harmon & James Lambrinos, 2006. "Online Format vs. Live Mode of Instruction: Do Human Capital Differences or Differences in Returns to Human Capital Explain the Differences in Outcomes?," Working papers 2006-07, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    online; cheating; assessment; undergraduate economics; face-to-face;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A2 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics
    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate

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