Readers and Authors of Educational Research: A Study of Research Output on K-12 Education Policy

The purpose of this study was to characterize a representative body of research to demonstrate the advantage of disseminating educational research in ways that reach the broadest audience. Using the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database, I compiled a set of research findings on a number of broad educational themes. Focusing on journal articles and reports, I examined the public availability of the publications, publication quality as determined by peer review, and authorship. In all, 65% of the journal articles were behind a paywall, and 35% were available either as PDFs or freely available on the publisher website; 61% of the peer-reviewed literature was locked behind a paywall. This study also examined a subset of reports-research studies not published in journals but issued by organizations, think tanks, or policy institutes; 27% of the reports were authored by institutions identified with a neoliberal or free-market ideology.