Abstract
Academic cheating behavior by university students was surveyed using the randomized response technique (RRT) and by conventional anonymous questionnaire methods. RRT is a survey method that permits sensitive information to be collected but that precludes associating the respondent with a particular response to a survey item. The estimated proportions of students who have engaged in cheating behaviors were, in general, larger using RRT. Moreover, this result is consistent with earlier findings for other sensitive behaviors. That underreporting is a serious problem with anonymous questionnaires is supported by the fact that the anonymous questionnaire estimates ranged from 39% to 83% below the RRT estimates. Furthermore, using a covariate modification of RRT, there was a distinct inverse relation between students' estimated grade-point average and the tendency to engage in cheating behavior. While these results have direct implications for estimating cheating behavior in higher education, more broadly, they raise serious concerns about the use of anonymous questionnaires when survey topics are sensitive.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Baird, J. (1980). Current trends in college cheating.Psychology in the Schools 17: 515–522.
Bronzaft, A. L., Stuart, I. R., and Blum, B. (1973). Test anxiety and cheating on college examinations.Psychological Reports 32: 149–150.
Campbell, W. G. (1933). Measurement in determining the personality and behavior of the college cribber.Education 53: 403–408.
Devore, J. L. (1977). Note on the randomized response technique.Communications in Statistics — Theory and Methods 6(15): 1525–1529.
Fligner, M. A., Policello, G. E., and Singh, J. (1977). Comparison of two randomized response survey methods with consideration for level of respondent protection.Communication in Statistics — Theory and Methods 6(15): 1511–1524.
Goodstadt, M. S., and Gruson, V. (1975). The randomized response technique: A test of drug use.Journal of the American Statistical Association 70: 814–818.
Greenberg, B. G., Abul-Ela, A., Simmons, W. R., and Horvitz, D. G. (1969). The unrelated question randomized response model: Theoretical framework.Journal of the American Statistical Association 64: 520–539.
Hartshorne, H., and May, M. A. (1928).Studies in Deceit. New York: Macmillan.
Howells, T. H. (1938). Factors influencing honesty.Journal of Sociological Psychology 9: 97–102.
Krotki, K., and Fox, B. (1974). The randomized response technique, the interview and the self-administered questionnaire: An empirical comparison of fertility reports.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section, American Statistical Association 367–371.
Lamb, C. W. and Stem, D. E. (1978). Empirical validation of randomized response technique.Journal of Marketing Research 15(4): 616–621.
Parr, F. W. (1936). The problem of student honesty.Journal of Higher Education 7: 318–326.
Scheers, N. J., and Dayton, C. M. (1982). The covariate unrelated question randomized response model.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section, American Statistical Association, 407–410.
Scheers, N. J., and Dayton, C. M. (1986). RRCOV: Computer program for covariate randomized response models.American Statistician 40: 229.
Shimizu, I. M., and Bonham, G. S. (1978). Randomized response technique in a national survey.Journal of the American Statistical Association 73: 35–39.
Sudman, S., and Bradburn, N. M. (1974).Response Effects in Surveys. Chicago: Aldine.
Vitro, F. T. (1971). The relationship of classroom dishonesty to perceived parental discipline.Journal of College Student Personnel 12: 427–429.
Warner, S. L. (1965). Randomized response: A survey technique for eliminating evasive answer bias.Journal of the American Statistical Association 60: 63–69.
Zdep, S. M., and Rhodes, I. N. (1977). Making the randomized response technique work.Public Opinion Quarterly 40 (4): 531–537.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scheers, N.J., Dayton, C.M. Improved estimation of academic cheating behavior using the randomized response technique. Res High Educ 26, 61–69 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991933
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991933