Open Research as an Ally to Teaching and Scholarship-Track Academics

Authors

  • Madeleine Pownall University of Leeds
  • Raechel N. Soicher
  • Emily Nordmann

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56433/dxhss233

Keywords:

open research, scholarship, pedagogical research, teaching

Abstract

‘Open research’ broadly aims to enhance the openness, transparency, and robustness of research across disciplines. While existing efforts have largely focused on improving the quality of research outputs, we argue that certain open research tools can also offer strategic benefits for Teaching and Scholarship (T&S) academics who engage primarily in educational or pedagogical research. Given the challenges in conducting high-quality pedagogical research, the adoption of open research tools may support T&S academics, by increasing research visibility, informing and refining methodological decision-making, and enhancing the efficacy and impact of pedagogical research. In this paper, we outline three key open research tools that may strategically benefit T&S academics: (1) preprints, (2) registered reports, and (3) sharing open educational resources. For each tool, we provide an overview, discuss how T&S academics can integrate them to improve their practice, and offer illustrative case studies. This discussion draws on the conceptualisation of high-quality pedagogical research outlined by Evans et al. (2021). We end with a call to researchers to align open research efforts with pedagogical scholarship, which will, in turn, improve pedagogical practice.

References

Adil, H.M., Ali, S., Sultan, M., Ashiq, M. and Rafiq, M. (2024), "Open education resources' benefits and challenges in the academic world: a systematic review", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. 73 No. 3, pp. 274-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-02-2022-0049

Booher, L., Nadelson, L. S., & Nadelson, S. G. (2020). What about research and evidence? Teachers’ perceptions and uses of education research to inform STEM teaching. The Journal of Educational Research, 113(3), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1782811

Bull, S., Cooper, A., Laidlaw, A., Milne, L., & Parr, S. (2024). 'You certainly don't get promoted for just teaching': experiences of education-focused academics in research-intensive universities. Studies in Higher Education, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2333946

Chambers, C. D. (2013). Registered reports. A new publishing initiative at Cortex. Cortex, 49(3), 609-610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2012.12.016

Evans, C., Howson, C. K., Forsythe, A., & Edwards, C. (2021). What constitutes high quality higher education pedagogical research? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(4), 525-546. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1790500

Flake, J. K. (2021). Strengthening the foundation of educational psychology by integrating construct validation into open science reform. Educational Psychologist, 56(2), 132-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2021.1898962

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000959

Fu, D. Y., & Hughey, J. J. (2019). Releasing a preprint is associated with more attention and citations for the peer-reviewed article. Elife, 8, e52646. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.52646.sa2

Gernsbacher, M. A., Soicher, R. N., & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2020). Four empirically based reasons not to administer time-limited tests. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(2), 175-190. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000232

Gernsbacher, M. A., Soicher, R. N., & Becker-Blease, K. A. (2021, February 21). Arguments Against Time-Limited Educational Testing. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9MD6B

Huang, C., Neylon, C., Montgomery, L., Hosking, R., Diprose, J. P., Handcock, R. N., & Wilson, K. (2024). Open access research outputs receive more diverse citations. Scientometrics, 129(2), 825-845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04894-0

McAleer, P., & Paterson, H. M. (2021). Improving pedagogy through Registered Reports. Open Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.56230/osotl.13

Moshontz, H., Binion, G., Walton, H., Brown, B. T., & Syed, M. (2021). A guide to posting and managing preprints. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 4(2), 251524592110199. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459211019948

Nguyen, V. M., Haddaway, N. R., Gutowsky, L. F. G., Wilson, A. D. M., Gallagher, A. J., Donaldson, M. R., Hammerschlag, N., & Cooke, S. J. (2015). How Long Is Too Long in Contemporary Peer Review? Perspectives from Authors Publishing in Conservation Biology Journals. PLoS ONE, 10(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132557

Nordmann, E., Horlin, C., Hutchison, J., Murray, J. A., Robson, L., Seery, M. K., & MacKay, J. R. (2020). Ten simple rules for supporting a temporary online pivot in higher education. PLoS Computational Biology, 16(10), e1008242. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008242

Open Educational Resources. (nd). https://oercommons.org/about

Pownall, M., Azevedo, F., Aldoh, A., Elsherif, M., Vasilev, M., Pennington, C. R., Robertson, O., Tromp, M. V., Liu, M., Makel, M. C., Tonge, N., Moreau, D., Horry, R., Shaw, J., Tzavella, L., McGarrigle, R., Talbot, C., Parsons, S., & FORRT. (2024). Embedding open and reproducible science into teaching: A bank of lesson plans and resources. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 10(3), 342-349. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000307

Pownall, M., Pennington, C. R., Norris, E., Juanchich, M., Smailes, D., Russell, S., ... & Clark, K. (2023). Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231202724

PsyTeachR. (2024). PsyTeachR. https://psyteachr.github.io/

Reich, J., Gehlbach, H., & Albers, C. J. (2020). "Like upgrading from a typewriter to a computer": Registered reports in education research. AERA Open, 6(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420917640

Published

2025-07-03

Issue

Section

Opinion Piece