Effects of familiarity with digital assessment in online education

Figures & data

Table 1. Grouping of survey items and research dependent variables.

Research Variables	Correspondent Items
Variable related to familiarity with online exams (VD1):
1. Experience with online exams.	(4) Number of years at university. (5) Experience with online exams.
Variables related to indirect perceptions about online exams (VD2):
2. Perception of difficulty in online exams.	(9) Difficulty of online exams compared to face-to-face exams. (10) Difficulty in cheating on online exams compared to face-to-face exams. (11) Time required to take online exams compared to face-to-face exams.
3. Perception of proctoring systems in online exams.	(13) Contrast of exam proctoring systems: online vs. face-to-face. (14) Acceptance of the webcam as a surveillance system.
4. Perception of digital interfaces in online exams.	(15) Contrasting ways of writing in exams: by hand vs. keyboard. (16) Contrasting ways of ticking MCQ in online exams: by hand vs. keyboard. (17) Contrasting ways of answering questions in online exams: keyboard vs. submit handwritten answers. (18) Contrasting ways of answering questions in online exams: keyboard vs. submit voice recording.
Variable related to direct perception about online exams (VD3):
5. Preferred exam type.	(19) Preference for online or face-to-face exams.

Figure 1. Relation between age and years at university in groups A and B.

Table 2. Pairwise comparisons of the preferred exam type for the final evaluation (G_B).

Sample 1–Sample 2	Test Statistic	Std. Error	Std. Test Sta.	Sig.	Adj. Sig.^a
Online exams–Other	−593.969	106.027	−5.602	<.001	.000
Online exams–Face-to-face exams	−845.144	69.334	−12.189	.000	.000
Other–Face-to-face exams	251.175	121.420	2.069	.039	.116

Note. Asymptotic significances (2-sided tests) are displayed (α = 0.05).

^a Significance values have been adjusted by the Bonferroni correction for multiple tests.

Figure 2. Relationship between previous online exam experience and preferred exam type.

Figure 3. Differences in mean scores on items about indirect perception of online exams.

Table

Items	Description
1. Age.	Age of respondent. Numeric value.
2. Sex/gender.	Sex/gender of respondent. Possible values: Male = 1; Female = 2; Other = 3.
3. Bachelor’ degree studying.	Current Bachelor Degree of respondent. Possible values: Bachelor’s Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology = 1; Bachelor’s Degree in English Studies = 2; Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy = 3; Bachelor’s Degree in Geography and History = 4; Bachelor’s Degree in Art History = 5; Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Language and Literature = 6; Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sciences = 7; Bachelor’s Degree in Physics = 8; Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics = 9; Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry = 10; Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology = 11; Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management = 12; Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Sciences of Public Administration = 13; Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Administration = 14; Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology = 15; Bachelor’s Degree in Law = 16; Bachelor’s Degree in Economics = 17; Bachelor’s Degree in Social Education = 18; Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy = 19; Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology = 20; Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work = 21; Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism = 22; Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Electronics and Automation Engineering = 23; Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering = 24; Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology Engineering = 25; Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Technology Engineering = 26; Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering = 27; Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering = 28.
4. Years enrolled in this university.	Number of years enrolled in university. Numeric value.
5. Have you taken online exams before, either at this university or outside?	Previous online exams experience. Possible values: Yes = 1; No = 2.
6. Did being online influence your decision to take the exams?	Motivated by online exams. Possible values: It has encouraged me = 1; It has discouraged me = 2; It has not influenced = 3.
7. Did you have adequate resources to take the online exams?	Availability of resources to take online exams. Possible values: Adequate resources = 1; Computer missing/failed = 2; Webcam missing/failed = 3; Internet connection missing/failed = 4; Physical space missing/failed = 5; Exams platform failed = 6.
8. Have you had enough time to take the exam?	Adequacy of the time to take online exams. Possible values: Enough time = 1; Not enough time = 2; Plenty of time = 3.
9. Level of agreement with the following statement: Online exams are easier than face-to-face exams.	Difficulty of online exams compared to face-to-face exams. Possible values: Strongly disagree = 1; Disagree = 2; Neither agree nor disagree = 3; Agree = 4; Strongly agree = 5.
10. Level of agreement with the following statement: In an online exam it is easier to cheat than in a face-to-face one.	Difficulty in cheating on online exams compared to face-to-face exams. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
11. Level of agreement with the following statement: Less time is spent taking an online exam than a face-to-face one.	Time required to take online exams compared to face-to-face exams. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
12. Level of agreement with the following statement: I prefer to take several online tests/assessment tasks during the course, rather than one final exam.	Preferences on continuous assessment. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
13. Level of agreement with the following statement: Webcam proctoring of an online exam generates more anxiety than teacher invigilation in face-to-face exams.	Contrast of exam proctoring systems: online vs. face-to-face. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
14. Level of agreement with the following statement: To prevent students from cheating, methods other than webcam proctoring should be employed.	Acceptance of the webcam as a surveillance system. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
15. Level of agreement with the following statement: In open-ended questions, it is more comfortable to write to type it on the keyboard.	Contrasting ways of writing in exams: by hand vs. keyboard. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
16. Level of agreement with the following statement: In MCQ, it is more comfortable to tick to the answer by hand than clicking on the keyboard of a computer/mobile device.	Contrasting ways of checking MCQ in exams: by hand vs. keyboard. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
17. Level of agreement with the following statement: For open-ended questions in online exams, it should be possible to submit handwritten answers.	Contrasting ways of answering questions in online exams: keyboard vs. submit handwritten answers. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
18. Level of agreement with the following statement: For open-ended questions in online exams, it should be possible to send the answer by voice recording.	Contrasting ways of answering questions in online exams: keyboard vs. submit voice recording. Possible values: [Same as item 9].
19. What assessment system do you prefer for taking the final exams?	Preference for online or face-to-face exams. Possible values: Online exams = 1; Face-to-face exams = 2; Other = 3.
20. Add any comments about the online assessment that you would like to incorporate.	Personal impressions of the online assessment. Possible values: open-ended question.

Data availability statement

Data is available from the corresponding author upon request.