Amy T. Nusbaum, Carrie Cuttler, & Samantha Swindell. (2020). Open educational resources as a tool for educational equity: Evidence from an introductory psychology class. Frontiers in Education, 4, Article 152, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00152
"During one semester, half of the Introductory Psychology sections at a large, public university were assigned to use OER while the other half were assigned to use the incumbent commercial textbook. Participants were asked to self-report the behaviors they engage in as a result of high textbook costs. We also examined student performance in the courses and students' perceptions and use of the two books. We found no significant differences between textbook groups on course performance or perceptions of the book, but marginalized students (first-generation students and/or ethnic minority students) reported engaging in negative behaviors (i.e., dropping a class) more often than their peers as a result of textbook costs. These findings suggest that textbook costs disproportionately affect our most vulnerable students and the use of OER may be one solution to this problem, particularly given the equivalent performance across textbook groups."
Beile, P., deNoyelles, A., & Raible, J. (2020). Analysis of an open textbook adoption in an American history course: Impact on student academic outcomes and behaviors. College & Research Libraries, 81(4), 721–736. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.4.721
"This study explored the impact of an open textbook adoption in an American history course on student academic outcomes and behaviors. Using a mixed-methods design, significant savings were realized with no decrease in student academic outcomes. Further, students reported having a positive experience using the open textbook, perceived the textbook as being of high quality, and expressed gratitude about the free cost."
Colvard, N. B., Watson, C. E., & Hyojin Park. (2018). The impact of open educational resources on various student success metrics. International Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 262–276. http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE3386.pdf
"This article reports the results of a large-scale study regarding the impact of course-level faculty adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). Results indicate that OER adoption does much more than simply save students money and address student debt concerns. OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students."
Fialkowski, M. K., Calabrese, A., Tilinghast, B., Titchenal, C. A., Meinke, W., Banna, J. C., & Draper, J. (2020). Open educational resource textbook impact on students in an introductory nutrition course. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(4), 359–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2019.08.006
"Academic performance in introductory nutrition was not affected by an OER textbook. An OER textbook for introductory nutrition may be an appropriate solution for institutions seeking to reduce student costs."
Fischer, L., Hilton, J., III, Robinson, T. J., & Wiley, D. A. (2015). A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 27(3), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-015-9101-x
"The purpose of this study was to analyze whether the adoption of no-cost open digital textbooks significantly predicted students' completion of courses, class achievement, and enrollment intensity during and after semesters in which OER were used. This study utilized a quantitative quasi-experimental design with propensity-score matched groups to examine differences in outcomes between students that used OER and those who did not. . . . There were statistically significant differences between groups, with most favoring students utilizing OER."
Jhangiani, R. S., Dastur, F. N., Le Grand, R., & Penner, K. (2018, April). As good or better than commercial textbooks: Students' perceptions and outcomes from using open digital and open print textbooks. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1), Article 5. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol9/iss1/5
"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."
Jhangiani, R., & Jhangiani, S. (2017, June). Investigating the perceptions, use, and impact of open textbooks: A survey of post-secondary students in British Columbia. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 18(4), 172–192. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i4.3012
"The present study involves a survey of 320 post-secondary students in British Columbia enrolled in courses using an open textbook during the Spring 2015, Summer 2015, and Fall 2015 semesters. The survey investigates students’ textbook purchasing behaviours, including whether, where, and in what format(s) they purchase and access their required textbooks; the negative impact of textbook costs on their course enrolment, persistence, and performance; how they access and use their open textbook, including their format preferences and study habits; and their perceptions of their open textbook, including its quality and what features they like and dislike."
Jones, M., & Nyland, R. (2020). A case study in outcomes on open-source textbook adoption in an introduction to art class. Frontiers in Education, 5, Article 92, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00092
"This paper reports the outcome of a basic study in an Art 100: Introduction to Art class of 150 in which an Open Educational Resourced text was introduced. The study was the result of a survey done at the end of the semester with a review of the grades of one section using the OER text when compared to a comparable section using a commercial text. Each section was taught by the same instructor in the same semester. The study examines the cost to students, as well as student outcomes, use, and perception of the OER text among those completing the course. . . . By comparing the outcomes from each class through the University's metrics-gathering system, and by collecting the perceptions of the course through an end-of-semester survey it was determined that there was a positive result in outcomes in the section using the OER text and that students believed their text to be the equal of a published text. Additionally, they reported actually accessing and reading the OER text chapters as opposed to not purchasing a required text for a class in the past."
Ross, H. M., Hendricks, C., & Mowat, V. (2018). Open textbooks in an introductory sociology course in Canada: Student views and completion rates. Open Praxis, 10(4), 393–403. https://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.4.892
"The growing interest in the use of OER at a Western Canadian university led to the chance to survey students for their feedback on using OER instead of traditional commercial textbooks. This paper focuses on the views of students in an introductory sociology course for which an instructor adopted an open textbook and otherwise left the course unchanged from when it was taught with a traditional textbook. In addition, completion rates for the offerings with the open textbook are compared to previous offerings with a commercial textbook."