GRADUATE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE, EXPERIENCES, AND PERFORMANCE IN AN ONLINE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION WITH ANTIPLAGIARISM SOFTWARE

Abstract

The convenience and flexibility of online assessments can be beneficial in a variety of ways, but they can also pose risks and challenges, such as potential academic dishonesty by students. This study included 73 master’s and doctoral students and investigated the relationship among their attitudes, experiences, and performance in an online comprehensive exam using antiplagiarism software. The main findings show that the respondents had a very positive attitude to the use of such software in the comprehensive examination. They generally believed that subjecting their work to antiplagiarism software maintains academic integrity and fosters fairness among test takers. The graduate students reported positive experiences taking the online comprehensive examination with antiplagiarism software when they shared that they trust the administration of the online comprehensive examinations. We also found that students’ attitudes to taking comprehensive examinations with antiplagiarism software and their experiences were moderately positive. Furthermore, students’ attitudes and the obtained similarity index had a low negative relationship, and performance and similarity index had a low negative correlation, implying that higher performance in the test of students is associated with a lower similarity index. This study provides valuable insights into how the comprehensive examination for graduate students may be conducted in the future, such as using antiplagiarism software to promote academic integrity, addressing the impact of technological challenges, developing a balanced exam structure, establishing ongoing communication support, and crafting clear and explicit instructions. This study highlights the intricate interplay among technology, integrity, and evaluation in the context of online examinations to ensure fairness and academic standards through clear guidelines and educational support.