What Makes the Difference?
A Practical Analysis of Research on the Effectiveness
of Distance Education



This is a product of the distance/online education research and evaluation program of The Center for Teaching and Technology (CTT) at the College of Education, Michigan State University. The first phase of this initiative was a large comprehensive literature review of distance/online education to identify factors that affect the effectiveness of distance/online education. This searchable data-base contains over 400 articles that have been selected out of over 8000 publications. These studies are considered empirical studies. Each study was coded by the research group using an analytical framework, which is included in this database. An accompanying instrument data-base is also available. The preliminary results of the study are reported in an article submitted to Teachers College Record. To read the draft of this article, click here.

If you have any question, please contact Dr. Yong Zhao

Center for Teaching and Technology
College of Education, Michigan State University