No comparison: Distance education finds a new use for 'no significant difference'

Media comparison studies have long been criticized as an inappropriate rese arch design for measuring the effectiveness of instructional technology. Ho wever, a resurgence in their use has recently been noted in distance educat ion for program evaluation purposes. An analysis of the research design wil l detail why such a methodology is an inappropriate approach to such an inv estigation. Increased access to such programming does not seem to serve as a satisfactory benefit for the implementation of distance education efforts . Stakeholders desire to prove that participants in distance-delivered cour ses receive the same quality of instruction off-campus as those involved in the "traditional" classroom setting. However, the desire to prove that the quality of such distributed offerings is equal to the quality of on-campus programming often results in comparisons of achievement between the two gr oups of student participants. Statistically, such a research design almost guarantees that the desired outcome will be attained- that indeed distance learners perform as well as campus-based students.