As Good or Better than Commercial Textbooks: Students’ Perceptions and Outcomes from Using Open Digital and Open Print Textbooks - Article 5

Oct 15, 2026

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The study examines how open textbooks affect Canadian post-secondary students’ perceptions, use, and course performance when assigned a commercial or open textbook in print or digital format. It addresses a gap in prior research that did not separate openness from format and had limited Canadian evidence. Findings indicate open print users rate quality higher than commercial users, while performance is no different or better, without sacrificing resource quality or student outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research background and gap

Study design and participants

Results

Implications for open textbook adoption

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 9 | Issue 1 | Article 5 | | --- | --- | | April 2018
As Good or Better than Commercial Textbooks: Students’ Perceptions and Outcomes from Using Open Digital and Open Print Textbooks
Rajiv S. Jhangiani
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, [rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca](rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca)[ ](rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca)FarhadN. Dastur
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, [farhad.dastur@kpu.ca](farhad.dastur@kpu.ca)[ ](farhad.dastur@kpu.ca)Richard Le Grand
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, [richard.legrand@kpu.ca](richard.legrand@kpu.ca)[ ](richard.legrand@kpu.ca)Kurt Penner
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, [kurt.penner@kpu.ca](kurt.penner@kpu.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea](https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Psychology Commons | | Recommended Citation Jhangiani, R. S., Dastur, F. N., Le Grand, R., & Penner, K. (2018). As Good or Better than Commercial Textbooks: Students’Perceptions and Outcomes from Using Open Digital and Open Print Textbooks. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9 (1). Retrieved from [https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol9/iss1/5](https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol9/iss1/5) As Good or Better than Commercial Textbooks: Students’ Perceptionsand Outcomes from Using Open Digital and Open Print Textbooks Abstract The increase in the cost of college textbooks together with the proliferation of digital content and devices has inspired the development of open textbooks, open educational resources that are free, openly licensed, and often peer-reviewed. Although several published studies have investigated the impact of open textbook adoption on educational outcomes, none have separated the effects of textbook openness and format and only two have taken place in Canada (Hendricks, Reinsberg, & Rieger, 2017; Jhangiani & Jhangiani, 2017). This study investigates the perceptions, use, and course performance of Canadian post-secondary students assigned a commercial or open textbook in either print or digital format. Results show that students using the print format of the open textbook perceive its quality to be superior to the commercial textbook. Moreover, students assigned an open textbook in either format perform either no differently from or better than those assigned a commercial textbook. These results are consistent with the existing literature and support the conclusion that the cost savings to students associated with the adoption of open textbooks do not come atthe expense of resource quality or student performance. L’augmentation du coût des manuels universitaires ainsi que la prolifération du contenu numérique et des appareils électroniques ont inspiré le développement de manuels ouverts, des ressources éducationnelles qui sont gratuites, dont les licences d’exploitation sont ouvertes et qui sont souvent évalués par les pairs. Bien que plusieurs études publiées aient étudié l’impact de l’adoption de manuels ouverts sur les résultats éducationnels, aucune n’a séparé les effets du caractère ouvert des manuels et du format et seulement deux études ont été menées au Canada (Hendricks, Reinsberg & Rieger, 2017; Jhangiani & Jhangiani, 2017). Cette étude examine les perceptions, l’emploi et les résultats des étudiants dans des établissements d’enseignementsupérieur canadiens à qui on avait assigné un manuel commercial ou un manuel ouvert en format imprimé ou numérique. Les résultats ont montré que les étudiants qui avaient utilisé le format imprimé du manuel ouvert avaient perçu que sa qualité était supérieure à celle du manuel commercial. De plus, les étudiants à qui on avait assigné un manuel ouvert dans l’un ou l’autre des formats avaient obtenu des résultats semblables à ceux des étudiants à qui on avait assigné un manuel commercial. Ces résultats con

FAQs

What problem does the study address about open textbooks?

It investigates whether educational outcomes differ due to textbook openness versus format, noting that prior studies often did not separate these effects and had limited Canadian research.

How were students assigned textbooks in the study?

Canadian post-secondary students were assigned either commercial or open textbooks in either print or digital format.

What did the study find about student perceptions and performance?

Students using the open textbook in print perceived its quality as superior to the commercial textbook, and students using open textbooks in either format performed no differently from or better than those using commercial textbooks.

Oct 15, 2026

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