Does fraud pay off? The effects of fraud on an online, unproctored intelligence test
Does fraud pay off? The effects of fraud on an online, unproctored intelligence test
A.N.M. Oud, W. Bloemers & E. Reitz, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume
22, September 2009, nr. 3, pp. 200-213
Nowadays, more and more assessment instruments are taken online, at home, by
candidates (unproctored assessment). Unproctored assessment has many advantages, such as
lower costs and more user-friendliness. One of the crucial questions with online- or
web-based assessment concerns fraud. Is it easier for candidates to commit fraud on an
online assessment? And if so, what is the effect of fraud on an online test? These
questions are important for the future use of web-based instruments and personnel selection
in general.
We examined if online testing leads to higher risks of fraud, and if so, to what
extent. Respondents (N = 431) were allocated to two different groups: an
'honest' group (n = 253) which received no particular instructions prior to
the test and a 'fraud' group (n = 178) of which the respondents were
instructed to commit fraud as effective as possible. All respondents completed an online
intelligence test, derived from the Q1000 intelligence test of Meurs HRM advisors. Results
show an effect size of .40 for the overall score on the test. Effect sizes for the subtests
varied from .09 for Syllogisms to .39 for Vocabulary. The authors
conclude that fraud pays off. The more fraud strategies respondents use, the
higher they score on the online intelligence test.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.