Distance learning: How effective is it, according to a meta-analysis of research?

Allen M, Mabry E, Mattrey M, et al. (2004) Evaluating the effectiveness of distance learning: A comparison using meta‐analysis. Journal of Communication 54(3): 402–420. Introduction This Research Digest summarises a meta-analysis of over 500 research papers on distance learning. A meta-analysis is a way of combining data from several studies on the same subject. Merging the findings across multiple studies allows researchers to identify common effects. This meta-analysis looks at whether the performance of students differs depending on whether they were taught in a traditional classroom, or via distance learning. Distance learning is defined by the authors as any course ‘in which the expectation is that the student and instructor will not be physically copresent in the same location’ (Allen et al., 2004, p. 403). What is the research underpinning the study? Existing research on the efficacy of distance learning has been mixed. Although some studies have shown distance