Evaluation of Open Educational Resources Among Students in Blended Research Methods and Statistics Coursework

Abstract

This article presents relevant research and a preliminary investigation of Open Educational Resources (OER). The authors of this study utilized OER to replace a traditional textbook in a two-course blended research methods and statistics sequence for working adult undergraduate psychology students. The authors aimed to consider student satisfaction with OER, and more importantly, to see if OER produced different grades when compared to prior course sections taught with a traditional textbook. Twenty students consented to participate in an online satisfaction survey. Qualitatively, participants reported that OER were concise, relevant to course-work, applicable, and had strong visual presentations. Quantitatively, grades significantly improved following implementation of OER. Although grades improved when OER replaced a textbook, this finding should be interpreted with caution. Limitations of this evaluation include a small sample size and self-reporting biases. These results provide preliminary evidence that students may benefit from implementation of OER. However, ongoing research into the perceptions, challenges, and effectiveness of OER is necessary.