Using a two-tier test to assess students' understanding and alternative conceptions of cyber copyright laws

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore students' understanding of cyber copyright laws. This study developed a two-tier test with 10 two-level multiple-choice questions. The first tier presented a real-case scenario and asked whether the conduct was acceptable whereas the second-tier provided reasons to justify the conduct. Students in Taiwan (123 college students and 121 high school students) were selected to answer these questions. The results indicated that 66.16% correctly answered the first-tier questions, but only 36.84% students correctly chose the second-tier reasons. The researchers found that college students had significantly higher scores on both tiers than did high school students, but gender made no difference between the two groups. Three alternative conceptions that students have regarding cyber copyright laws were concluded from this study: (1) the Internet content is entirely open for the public to use; (2) the Internet is always free; and (3) all educational use is fair use. Implications of these results for college and high school courses and future research directions are discussed.