How to Determine Student Satisfaction in Online Learning Environment

Article Comparison and Critique – How to Determine Student Satisfaction in Online Learning Environment
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June 10, 2023
The recent Covid-19 Pandemic has caused various industries to shift from physical to digital. Accordingly, one of the most notable examples of this has been the field of education, wherein academic institutions, educators, and students were forced to shift toward online learning platforms. However, online learning did not start only during the recent pandemic. Contrary to popular misconception, online learning has been thriving and a preferred mode of learning even before the advent of Covid-19. In line with this, this essay critically analyses and compares two seminal studies focused on online learning - "Can online courses deliver in-class results? A comparison of student performance and satisfaction in an online versus a face-to-face introductory sociology course" by Driscoll et al. (2012), and "A review of predictive factors of student success in and satisfaction with online learning" by Kauffman (2015). Both studies address student success and satisfaction in online learning, making them suitable for parallel analysis. The author’s aim in this study is to examine these studies' methodological choices and implementation, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to discern which approach offers more robust results.
Accordingly, the core methodological question guiding this critique is: What are the strengths and limitations of using quantitative analysis in assessing student success and satisfaction in online learning? This question is pertinent to both papers as they employ quantitative methods to derive their conclusions, albeit to varying degrees, and use different specific techniques. By focusing on this question, the critique aims to probe how quantitative research approaches help shape our understanding of online learning effectiveness and student satisfaction.
Going forward in this analysis, the essay will unfold in four main sections. First, a detailed description of each study's methodological approach will be provided, highlighting the differences and similarities between the two. This part will include the rationale for the chosen methodology, the research design, data collection, and analysis techniques. Second, an analysis and evaluation of these methodological choices will be conducted. This will involve examining the researchers' implementation of their chosen methodologies and exploring potential strengths and limitations.
Third, the essay will compare and contrast the two papers, focusing on the implications of their methodological choices for their findings. The discussion will center on how these methodologies influence what we can infer about online learning's effectiveness and student satisfaction. Lastly, a concluding section will summarize the key points from the analysis, make an overall judgment on each paper's strengths, and conclude the role of quantitative analysis in educational research, particularly in studying online learning effectiveness and student satisfaction.
Positioning
As an aspiring scholar interested in educational technology and online learning, the author primarily focuses on resear...