Abstract:

Even before the pandemic, cheating in online written exams occurred and was addressed with technical measures. Under the current situation, e-assessment, and examiners, as well as students at the university, were pushed to their limits. There were increased observable cheating attempts and it can be assumed that most attempts to cheat were successful and went undetected. Above all, googling facts and performances in groups and the accompanying communication is usually not traceable by the examiners.

But what exactly drives students to dishonestly enhance their performance? Some research provides insights into the methods of cheating and backgrounds, but where do new motivations and backgrounds for cheating lie under the circumstances of the pandemic?

The following research questions will be answered in this paper:
Research question 1: What are the reasons for cheating in written online exams in higher education?
Research question 2: How did the pandemic increase students' motivation to cheat?

A detailed quantitative analysis of students' circumstances will reveal the motivations that lead individuals to cheat. For this purpose, a survey will be conducted via questionnaire among up to 10,000 students of the faculty of economics, focusing on the individual situation both before and during the pandemic as well as technical possibilities like networking and researching facts. We will find out whether the willingness to cheat is higher in online formats than in face-to-face (as is to be expected), whether there are differences between Master's and Bachelor's students, and whether gender or age is a decisive factor. Also, the focus will be on statements about the preparation for the exam, the bond with the teacher, the depth of communication, the feeling of belonging with the learner group and the general satisfaction with summative testing procedures.

We expect that students are significantly less inclined to cheat if they feel seen and appreciated by the examiner and familiar with him. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the higher the quality of preparation by the examiner, the greater the need for the student to perform honestly. We also wish to confirm our assumption that students who, in the same course, have been assessed by other means than a summative written exam, for example, individual feedback or self-assessment, are less likely to be tempted by any means of cheating.

An evaluation of the findings will allow statements to be made about which group of people are particularly inclined to cheat and why. The results of this paper are the basis for understanding learners and provide a foundation for reducing cheating in e-assessment in the long term.

Keywords:

E-assessment, online exam, summative assessment, higher education, university, cheating.