Objective: It is very important to observe academic ethics and reduce cheating in higher education center exams in non-face-to-face and online conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze the causes and motivations of students' cheating in online tests.
Materials and Methods: A qualitative research method of content analysis was used. The research population included all professors and students concerned and involved with the issue of online cheating in the Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology at Payame Noor University of Isfahan Province in the academic year 2021-2022. The purposive sampling method was criterion-based. The sample size was determined to reach theoretical saturation with 26 students and 12 professors. The data obtained from semi-structured interviews were analyzed with the content analysis method in the style of Atride Stirling (2001) and with Maxqda2020 software.
Findings: The findings from the perspectives of students and professors included 156 and 187 basic theme codes, 17 and 18 organizing theme codes, respectively, and finally two overarching theme codes of individual causes and motivations and situational and contextual causes and motivations were extracted as causes of cheating in online university tests.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that cheating in online tests is the result of a combination of individual and situational factors that are perceived similarly by students and professors. Understanding these factors makes it possible to design ethical and preventive solutions