"We want to understand the experience and success of online students and ensure their inclusion"

Ariadna Angulo-Brunet holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a doctoral degree in Health and Sport Psychology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Her career has focused on the methodology of health and behavioural sciences, a discipline that quickly captured her interest and led her to specialize with a master's degree at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED). She is currently a member of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), where she coordinates the newly created research group Measuring and Improving Student Success (MISS). In this interview, she talked about the group's objectives, the members of her team and the impact they hope to have on learning and academic success.

What are the objectives of the Measuring and Improving Student Success (MISS) research group?

Our objectives focus on understanding the processes that students go through in online higher education. We're particularly interested in promoting inclusion and equity, in other words, creating learning environments that are fair and accessible to a highly diverse student body.

We've identified three main research lines. First, we aim to explore students' experience in online learning, including aspects related to academic success. Second, we're investigating the factors that influence their learning process. Finally, we want to identify ways to make inclusion a reality for all students.

At the moment we have a relatively small team. In this first year, we're focusing on defining the specific projects and initiatives that we can undertake within these lines in order to establish a solid foundation as a research group.

Why is there a need for a group like MISS, and what relevance will its research have?

We believe that MISS is necessary because of its interdisciplinary nature and the diversity of profiles of its members. This diversity allows us to create synergies that enrich our contributions. Most of our members come from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, but we also have close links with the UOC's eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC), which helps us to address key aspects such as satisfaction and success in online learning.

One of the hallmarks of our group is its strong focus on research methodology. Two of the eight members, myself included, are primarily involved in both quantitative and qualitative methodological research. This is unusual in other teams, where often only one person, if any, focuses on this area.

We also aim to promote substantive-methodological synergies. This means harmoniously integrating what we research (the content, issues or objects of study – the substantive aspect) with how we research (the methods, techniques or approaches used – the methodological aspect). This will enable us to apply advanced methodological innovations, both in statistics and in cutting-edge qualitative methods. In doing so, we aim to bring new and more effective techniques to our research and to make a significant contribution to understanding and improving online learning processes.

Is research methodology the group's main area of expertise?

Our main specialization is learning in online higher education, with a strong emphasis on inclusivity. However, research methodology is one of our key strengths as a team and it's worth highlighting.

Our methodological approach isn't limited to either quantitative or qualitative methods. The use of mixed methods is at our core, as we have specialists on both sides. This combination is one of the aspects that sets us apart and strengthens us as a group.

What projects is the MISS group currently working on?

At the moment we're in an initial phase of defining the projects we want to develop in the coming years. The group has only recently been formed and we're working to identify priority areas and funding calls that we can target as a team.

Individually, however, each of us has been working in related areas of research for the past few years. The formation of this group represents a significant opportunity to pool our efforts, collaborate more systematically and create stronger synergies. We're confident that this collective work will enable us to achieve more meaningful and impactful results.

What impact do you hope your research will have, both at the UOC and in other institutions?

We expect our research to have an impact on two fronts. First, we trust that the results will be very useful for the UOC, helping us to better understand our students, identify their needs and analyse how they engage with the university's educational model. This knowledge will allow us to make informed decisions and continuously improve as an institution, especially in areas such as inclusion and support for students at risk of falling behind.

Second, the impact may extend beyond the UOC. We believe that the knowledge we generate can be extrapolated to other contexts, enabling other institutions to take action based on the lessons learned here. In this way, we can contribute to the development of more inclusive and effective educational practices in higher education on a global scale.

What professional profiles are represented in the research group?

We currently have a diverse and complementary team, reflecting the group's interdisciplinary focus. We have one researcher and two full-time predoctoral researchers working on topics closely related to university learning. We've also welcomed a new member of the teaching staff of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, who has previous experience at the eLinC and specializes in qualitative methods.

In addition, we work with a specialist from the eLinC who manages survey data and monitors students at the UOC. The group also includes the director of the Doctoral Programme in Education and ICT (e-Learning) and the head of the Learning and Teaching Analysis team at the eLinC.

As for myself, I identify as a methodologist with a strong interest in quantitative methods. In recent years, I've been leaning more towards qualitative techniques applied to specific contexts, an area in which I'd like to develop further.

Finally, we're awaiting approval to bring on board an external collaborator. He's a social psychologist and diversity specialist who'll further enrich the perspectives within the group.

UOC R&I

The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health.

Over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups work in the UOC's seven faculties, its eLearning Research programme and its two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

The university also develops online learning innovations at its eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.

Open knowledge and the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information: research.uoc.edu.