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In many ways these are similar to traditional exams, but with the major difference that students are allowed to take in with them sources of reference material. Alternatively, candidates may be issued with a standard set of resource materials that they can consult during the exam, and are informed in advance about what will be available to them, so that they can prepare themselves by practising to apply the resource materials. Sometimes, in addition the ‘timed’ element is relaxed or abandoned, allowing students to answer questions with the aid of their chosen materials, and at their own pace.
These have many of the advantages of traditional exams, with the addition of:
Less stress on memories! The emphasis is taken away from students being required to remember facts, figures, maybe formulae, and other such information.
Measuring retrieval skills. It is possible to set questions which measure how well students can use and apply information, and how well they can find their way round the contents of books and even databases.
Slower writers helped? If coupled with a relaxation in the timed dimension (e.g. a nominal ‘2-hour’ paper where students are allowed to spend up to three hours if they wish) some of the pressure is taken away from those students who happen to be slower at writing down their answers (and also students who happen to think more slowly).
Not enough books or resources! It is hard to ensure that all students are equally equipped regarding the books they bring into the exam with them. A limited stock of library books (and the impossibility of students purchasing their own copies of expensive books) means that some students may be disadvantaged.
Need bigger desks? Students necessarily require more desk-space for open-book exams if they are to be able to use several sources of reference as they compose their answers to exam questions. This means fewer students can be accommodated in a given exam room than with traditional unseen exams, and therefore open book exams are rather less cost-effective in terms of accommodation and invigilation.
All of the suggestions regarding traditional exam questions still apply. In addition.....
Decide whether to prescribe the books students may employ. This is one way round the problem of availability of books. It may even be possible to arrange supplies of the required books to be available in the exam room.
Consider compiling a source-collection for the particular exam. Check on copyright issues, and see if it is cost-effective to put together a set of papers, extracts, data, and other information from which students can find what they need to address the questions in the particular exam.
Set questions which require students to do things with the information available to them, rather than merely summarising it and giving it back.
Make the actual questions particularly clear and straightforward to understand. The fact that students will be reading a lot during the exam means that care has to be taken that they don’t read the actual instructions too rapidly.
Focus the assessment criteria on what students have done with the information, and not just on them having located the correct information.
Plan for shorter answers. Students doing open book exams will be spending quite a lot of their time searching for, and making sense of, information and data. They will therefore write less per hour than students who are answering traditional exam questions ‘out of their heads’.