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A review of 238 empirical studies using primary data across eight SSCI/ESCI-indexed DE journals examines clarity and rigor in study design, sampling, data sources, researcher bias, ethics, and limitations. Results indicate generally good clarity on context, purpose, and intervention duration, while substantial concerns remain in methodological rigor, sampling reporting, instrument piloting, and ethical disclosure.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/is-the-empirical-research-we-have-the-research-we-can-trust-a-review-of-distance-education-journal-publications-in-2021/593145/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/is-the-empirical-research-we-have-the-research-we-can-trust-a-review-of-distance-education-journal-publications-in-2021/593145.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Aran","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the review focus on regarding distance education research?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It assesses the trustworthiness of empirical studies by examining the appropriateness and robustness of research design, including approach, sampling, data sources, bias, ethics, and limitations.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What do the findings say about methodological clarity and research rigor?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Many studies show reasonable clarity in context, purpose, and intervention timing-related duration, but a large share are less rigorous in research approach and design, sampling strategies, data sources, researcher bias, ethical concerns, and stated limitations.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the review evaluate sampling and research generalizability?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Over 60% of the studies do not specify sampling strategies, and only about 20% of specified strategies are probabilistic, which limits the generalizability of the review’s conclusions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},593145,1792171126,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},137455076865,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Is the empirical research we have the research we can trust? A review of distance education journal publications in 2021  \nYiwei Peng, Junhong Xiao  \nAbstract: This study aims to investigate the trustworthiness of empirical research published in distance education (DE) journals, an area that has yet to be systematically explored. The review covers 238 empirical studies which were based on primary data and published in 2021 in eight DE journals listed in Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) or Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) . Findings suggest that they are fairly good in terms of clarity in context of study, purpose of study, and duration if a study involves an intervention or is otherwise length-sensitive, albeit the existence of small room for improvement. In contrast, a large proportion of the studies reviewed are less rigorous to different but considerable and even alarming degrees in terms of research approach and design, sampling strategies, source of data, researcher bias, ethical concerns, and limitations. Put specifically, less than one quarter of the sample studies adopted the qualitative approach while over 90% of the quantitative studies followed the survey and correlational designs, resulting in a staggering disproportion from the perspective of diversity in research approach and design. Over 60% of the sample studies did not spell out their sampling strategies and only about 20% of the specified sampling strategies were probabilistic in nature, limiting the generalizability of the findings. Over 90% employed questionnaires/scales/rubricsand/or interview protocols to collect data but over 70% of these two types of instruments were neither reviewed nor piloted before put to use with less than 50% available in full content, hence likely to undermine the value of the findings. Researcher bias, ethical concerns, and limitations were addressed in 10%, 50%, and 70% of the studies respectively. Implications for future research are also discussed in the light of these findings .  \nKeywords: distance education, empirical research, methodological rigor, journal publication, literature review  \nHighlights  \nWhat is already known about this topic:  \n• Major research themes and trends in DE journal publications.  \n• Citation patterns, journal impact, authorship patterns, and co-authorship network.  \n• Keywords, theoretical/conceptual frameworks, variables, and population/participants. What this paper contributes:  \n• The study focus exclusively on the appropriateness and robustness of research design.  \n• Lack of methodological rigor that has long plagued the field of DE remains unabated to different extents in different aspects today.  \n• Empirical research in DE needs improving , especially in terms of research approach and design, sampling, data source, and possible weaknesses such as limitations, researcher bias and ethical concerns.  \nImplications for theory, practice and/or policy:  \n• More qualitative and mixed-methods research should be encouraged.  \n• The tendency to favor correlational and survey research over other types of research design should be reduced.  \n• More longitudinal research is needed.  \nIntroduction  \nBased on research findings from 1928 to 1998 concerning the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning, chiefly distance learning, in comparison with other models of teaching, Russell’s (1999) No Significant Difference Phenomenon is often cited as evidence to legitimize distance education (DE) . This is because it is taken for granted that the studies included in this work were trustworthy. Similarly, the meta-analysis of Bernard et al. (2009) is often used to support Anderson’s (2003) equivalency theorem according to which, among other things, a high level of one type of interaction can result in an effective educational experience even if the other two types are “offered at minimal levels, or even eliminated”. Nevertheless, a scrutiny of the empirical studies included in Bernard et al. (2009)","cbCaiv1u93yL40xg","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv1u93yL40xg","pdf",454663,18,"English","# Highlights\n## What is already known about this topic\n## What this paper contributes\n## Implications for theory, practice and/or policy\n# Introduction\n## Background: No Significant Difference and interaction equivalency claims\n## Existing systematic reviews and research trend studies","[{\"question\":\"What does the review focus on regarding distance education research?\",\"answer\":\"It assesses the trustworthiness of empirical studies by examining the appropriateness and robustness of research design, including approach, sampling, data sources, bias, ethics, and limitations.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the findings say about methodological clarity and research rigor?\",\"answer\":\"Many studies show reasonable clarity in context, purpose, and intervention timing-related duration, but a large share are less rigorous in research approach and design, sampling strategies, data sources, researcher bias, ethical concerns, and stated limitations.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the review evaluate sampling and research generalizability?\",\"answer\":\"Over 60% of the studies do not specify sampling strategies, and only about 20% of specified strategies are probabilistic, which limits the generalizability of the review’s conclusions.\"}]","Is the Empirical Research We Have the Research We Can Trust - A Review of Distance Education Journal Publications in 2021 | PDF",1792076686,45]