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Research
and Distance Education
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What is Research?
In this lesson, we will explore distance education research. According to the dictionary, research is:
1. systematic inquiry into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, etc.
2. to make an extensive investigation into
3. study, inquire, examine, scrutinize
The term research will be used in the broadest sense within this lesson. We will include survey research and evaluative research studies about distance education. We will also review how distance education is changing how research is conducted in higher education, from both the student and faculty perspective.
Because distance
education research often includes an evaluation of distance learning,
we will focus on both research & evaluation in this lesson. There
has been a wealth of research studies about distance education in the
last decade, as the popularity of distance learning has increased with
the advent of the Internet and WWW.
Common Distance Education Research Questions
- Is distance learning as effective as traditional on-campus courses?
- What are the characteristics of distance learning students?
- What is the cost comparison between distance learning and on-campus courses?
- How do you evaluate distance education?
- What media is most effective in delivering distance education courses or programs?
- What is
the origin and current definition of distance education?