Author: Alexander Amigud
Programme: Doctoral Programme in Network and Information Technologies
Language: English
Supervisors: Dr. Atanasi Daradoumis Haralabus and Dr. Joan Arnedo Moreno
Faculty / Institute: Doctoral School UOC
Subjects: Computer Science
Key words: academic integrity, identity assurance, authorship assurance, authorship assurance, learning analytics
Area of knowledge: Network and Information Technologies
Summary
The growing scope and changing nature of academic programmes provide a challenge to the integrity of traditional testing and examination protocols. The aim of this thesis is to introduce an alternative to the traditional approaches to academic integrity, bridging the anonymity gap and empowering instructors and academic administrators with new ways of maintaining academic integrity that preserve privacy, minimize disruption to the learning process, and promote accountability, accessibility and efficiency. This work aims to initiate a paradigm shift in academic integrity practices. Research in the area of learner identity and authorship assurance is important because the award of course credits to unverified entities is detrimental to institutional credibility and public safety. This thesis builds upon the notion of learner identity consisting of two distinct layers (a physical layer and a behavioural layer), where the criteria of identity and authorship must both be confirmed to maintain a reasonable level of academic integrity. To pursue this goal in organized fashion, this thesis has the following three sections: (a) theoretical, (b) empirical, and (c) pragmatic.