Why and how science students in the United States think their peers cheat more frequently online: perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Academic integrity establishes a code of ethics that transfers over into the job force and is a critical characteristic in scientists in the twenty-first century. A student’s perception of cheating is influenced by both internal and external factors that develop and change through time. For students, the COVID-19 pandemic shrank their academic and social environments onto a computer screen. We surveyed science students in the United States at the end of their first COVID-interrupted semester to understand how and why they believed their peers were cheating more online during a pandemic. Almost 81% of students indicated that they believed cheating occurred more frequently online than in-person. When explaining why they believed this, students touched on proctoring, cheating influences, and extenuating circumstances due to COVID-19. When describing how they believed cheating occurred more frequently online, students touched on methods for cheating and surreptitious behavior. The student reasonings were associated with four theories (game theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, neutralization theory, and planned behavior theory) that have been used to examine academic dishonesty. Our results can aid institutions in efforts to quell student concerns about their peers cheating during emergencies. Interestingly, most student beliefs were mapped to planned behavior theory while only a few students were mapped to neutralization theory, suggesting it was a novel modality of assessment rather than a pandemic that shaped student perceptions.

Predictors of cheating in online exams among business students during the Covid pandemic: Testing the theory of planned behavior

“…A number of studies compared the levels of cheating in face-to-face and online classes before the COVID-19 pandemic. Although both students and faculty believe that it is easier to cheat online than in a face-to-face setting (e.g., Goff et al, 2020 ; Kennedy, Nowak, Raghuraman, Thomas, & Davis, 2000 ; King & Case, 2014 ; King et al, 2009 ; Miller & Young-Jones, 2012 ; Walsh et al, 2021 ), studies that empirically examined whether students did indeed cheat more online than in face-to-face classes did not provide a clear conclusion. Precisely, while some researchers (e.g., Fask et al, 2014 ; Goff et al, 2020 ; King & Case, 2014 ; Lanier, 2006 ) found higher levels of cheating in online classes compared to face-to-face classes, other researchers (e.g., Grijalva et al, 2006 ; Watson & Sottile, 2010 ) found no significant difference between the two modes of classes, and still other researchers ( Stuber-McEwen et al, 2009 ) found higher levels of cheating in face-to-face classes relative to online classes.…”

“…For example, universities that used to offer only face-to-face degrees/classes have started offering or are planning to offer degrees/classes online. As online teaching is expected to grow in the foreseeable future it will likely bring with it an increase in e-assessments that are known to make it easier for students to have access to exam answers and/or receive unpermitted assistance from others ( Bilen & Matros, 2021 ; Elsalem et al, 2021 ; Hosseini et al, 2021 ; Mellar et al, 2018 ; Walsh et al, 2021 ). Thus, cheating is bound to remain a major feature of online teaching in the years to come ( Fask et al ., 2014 ; Holden et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Although academic integrity is a vital principle that should receive the highest priority regardless of the situation, the increasing pressure due to COVID-19 and the adoption of new assessment methods have resulted in unfamiliar and difficult situations that make it very hard to maintain a high level of academic integrity ( Janke et al, 2021 ). For example, some instructors have employed non-invigilated online assessments which offered more opportunities for cheating and made it more difficult to spot instances of dishonesty ( Bilen & Matros, 2021 ; Janke et al, 2021 ; Walsh et al, 2021 ). The increase in academic dishonesty, aptly referred to as a “trend” by Goff et al (2020) , “threaten(s) to create an unfair system where cheaters are rewarded with higher grades than non-cheaters, thereby encouraging otherwise honest students to cheat” (p. 248) (see also Bilen & Matros, 2021 ; McCabe et al, 1999 , 2001 ).…”

“…While recent empirical studies have contributed to our understanding of the online cheating problem, most of these studies have been conducted in Western countries (e.g., Bilen & Matros, 2021 ; Janke et al, 2021 ; Walsh et al, 2021 ) and none of them focused on identifying the predictors of online cheating during the COVID-19 pandemic among business students. Moreover, most of the research that deals with online cheating has largely been empirically driven rather than theory driven.…”

Does statistics anxiety impact academic dishonesty? Academic challenges in the age of distance learning

“…AD poses a severe threat, undermining the educational system’s integrity (Miller 2019 ). Furthermore, AD has both moral and practical implications (Bacon et al 2020 ), as students’ ethical behaviour transfers over into the job force (Walsh et al 2021 ). Thus, professional education shall also focus on the ethical formation (Guerrero-Dib et al 2020 ).…”