Combating Academic Dishonesty in Higher Education Exams during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Open Book Exams

Background: One of the clear effects of the spread of the Covid-19 virus on educational work is the shift to remote teaching and assessment. Since the switch to remote exams, it became clear that the biggest challenge facing electronic exams is the spread of academic dishonesty to the extent that it has become a concern for teachers, educators, officials and parents. The preoccupation of these individuals became the need to search for what would put an end to this problem.Objective: This research aims to shed light on the open book exams that can contribute to reducing this problem. It also aims to show the role of the open book exam in reducing academic dishonesty in electronic exams.Methodology: In the methodology, the rapid review method was done for collecting data. Papers were then categorized and analyzed to realize the goals of this research.Results: It has been found that electronic exams suffer from an outbreak of academic dishonesty. And the use of the open book exam, especially the one that is built in a sound way, reduces the phenomenon of academic dishonesty.Conclusion: The use of open book exams contributes positively to the reduction of academic dishonesty provided that the exam is designed and built appropriately and both the lecturer and the student are well trained to use this type of exam.