Published Educational Research: An Empirical Study of Its Quality

This study is an evaluation of the quality of educational research articles published during 1983. It replicates a study conducted in 1971 by Ward, Hall, and Schramm (1975). A total of 58% of the 1983 research articles were found to be acceptable as is for publication or after only minor revisions and 42% were found to be either unacceptable for publication or in need of major revisions to make them acceptable. Articles published in journals of related professions (primarily psychology) were judged not significantly different in overall quality from articles published in education journals. However, related-professions articles did receive higher ratings on specific characteristics deemed desirable as aspects of quality. Overall, the most frequently cited shortcomings of the sample of research articles were in the area of procedures.