Examination malpractice in Nigerian universities is currently a major challenge in the education sector, which has worsened due to the increased adoption of Computer-Based Testing (CBT). Amidst several interventions put in place to address this challenge by educational institutions and management, it remains unabated. Scholars have tried to address the menace of examination malpractice by mainly investigating the external factors necessitating students' tendencies for examination malpractices in CBT, as well as the perceptions, challenges, and strategies for its control, respectively. Nonetheless, more attention must be directed towards some intrinsic psychological factors among students that could impact their involvement in examination malpractices during CBT. Research about the interactions and effects of study habits alongside psychological and technological variables on students' academic integrity, specifically in higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, is sparse. This study, therefore, examined the roles of students' study habits, self-efficacy, digital literacy, and attitudes in curbing examination malpractices in CBT amidst the nuanced relationship that exists among these variables. The correlational survey research design was utilized for this study, with a sample of 2577 undergraduates selected through multistage sampling. The Examination Malpractices and Computer-Based Testing Questionnaire (EMCBTQ) was used to collect data for the study via the face-to-face method. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data. Results indicate that students' attitudes toward CBT do not significantly influence attitudes towards examination malpractice (β = −0.012, t = 0.489, p = 0.625), higher digital literacy among students is associated with more favourable attitudes toward examination malpractice (β = 0.135, t = 4.570, p < 0.001), digital literacy positively influences students' attitudes toward CBT (β = 0.184, t = 4.388, p < 0.001), students' self-efficacy positively influence their attitudes toward CBT (β = 0.395, t = 12.506, p < 0.001), students with higher self-efficacy tend to have more favourable attitudes toward computer-based testing (β = 0.103, t = 2.251, p = 0.024), students' effective study habits favourably influenced attitudes toward examination malpractice but not attitudes toward computer-based testing (β = 0.623, t = 25.897, p < 0.001). The study recommends that efforts that foster CBT's continued use and sustenance, as well as students' study habits, self-efficacy, digital literacy, and attitudes, be advanced. The study's findings have implications for educational psychology, counseling, and digital literacy.
Akomolafe et al. (Tue,) studied this question.