Student Misconceptions about Cybersecurity Concepts: Analysis of Think-Aloud Interviews

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dc.contributor.authorThompson, Julia D.
dc.contributor.authorHerman, Geoffrey L.
dc.contributor.authorScheponik, Travis
dc.contributor.authorOliva, Linda
dc.contributor.authorSherman, Alan
dc.contributor.authorGolaszewski, Ennis
dc.contributor.authorPhatak, Dhananjay
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-05T19:40:06Z
dc.date.available2018-09-05T19:40:06Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.descriptionDigital Commons@Kennesaw State University copyright 2019en_US
dc.description.abstractWe conducted an observational study to document student misconceptions about cybersecurity using thematic analysis of 25 think-aloud interviews. By understanding patterns in student misconceptions, we provide a basis for developing rigorous evidence-based recommendations for improving teaching and assessment methods in cybersecurity and inform future research. This study is the first to explore student cognition and reasoning about cybersecurity. We interviewed students from three diverse institutions. During these interviews, students grappled with security scenarios designed to probe their understanding of cybersecurity, especially adversarial thinking. We analyzed student statements using a structured qualitative method, novice-led paired thematic analysis, to document patterns in student misconceptions and problematic reasoning that transcend institutions, scenarios, or demographics. Themes generated from this analysis describe a taxonomy of misconceptions but not their causes or remedies. Four themes emerged: overgeneralizations, conflated concepts, biases, and incorrect assumptions. Together, these themes reveal that students generally failed to grasp the complexity and subtlety of possible vulnerabilities, threats, risks, and mitigations, suggesting a need for instructional methods that engage students in reasoning about complex scenarios with an adversarial mindset. These findings can guide teachers’ attention during instruction and inform the development of cybersecurity assessment tools that enable cross-institutional assessments that measure the effectiveness of pedagogies.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Defense under CAE-R grants H98230-15-1-0294 and H98230-17-1-0349 at UMBC, and H98230-15-1-0273 and H98230-17-1-03473 at the University of Illinois; and by the National Science Foundation under SFS grant 1241576 at UMBC.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jcerp/vol2018/iss1/5/en_US
dc.format.extent31 PAGESen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/M2XD0R18K
dc.identifier.citationThompson, Julia D.; Herman, Geoffrey L.; Scheponik, Travis; Oliva, Linda; Sherman, Alan; Golaszewski, Ennis; Phatak, Dhananjay; and Patsourakos, Kostantinos (2018) "Student Misconceptions about Cybersecurity Concepts: Analysis of Think-Aloud Interviews," Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice: Vol. 2018 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jcerp/vol2018/iss1/5en_US
dc.identifier.issn2472-2707
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/11233
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherDigitalCommons@Kennesaw State Universityen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Education Department
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Student Collection
dc.rightsThis item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the author.
dc.subjectAdversarial thinkingen_US
dc.subjectCybersecurity Assessment Tools (CATS)en_US
dc.subjectcybersecurity educationen_US
dc.subjectinformation assuranceen_US
dc.subjectmisconceptionsen_US
dc.subjectnovice-led thematic analysisen_US
dc.titleStudent Misconceptions about Cybersecurity Concepts: Analysis of Think-Aloud Interviewsen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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