By the FRELIP Editorial Team · Last reviewed April 2026 · About our editorial process
Welcome to Education Research

Purpose & Audience

What is this guide?
A curated collection of high-quality, freely accessible scholarly resources in Education, Educational Technology, Pedagogy, Curriculum Development, and Teaching Methods.

Who is it for?
Education students, teachers, faculty, researchers, curriculum developers, educational administrators, and anyone interested in teaching and learning.

Why "free" does not mean "low quality":
All resources listed here are peer-reviewed, developed by leading universities and institutions, or published under rigorous editorial standards. Organizations like UNESCO, MIT, Stanford, and Rice University lead the OER movement in education.

Three Doorways to Free Knowledge

Open Access (OA)

Peer-reviewed educational research made freely available online. Examples include studies on learning outcomes, teaching methodologies, educational psychology, and policy analysis.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Teaching materials, textbooks, lesson plans, curricula, and learning modules released under Creative Commons or similar open licenses. Can be freely used, adapted, and shared with proper attribution.

Public Domain

Historical educational texts, classic pedagogical works, and government education reports whose copyright has expired. Free to use without restriction.

Type Licensing Typical Use Attribution Required?
Open Access Publisher retains some rights Reading, citing research Yes (standard citation)
OER Creative Commons (CC BY, CC BY-SA, etc.) Teaching, learning, remixing Yes (TASL format)
Public Domain No copyright restrictions Any use, commercial or non-commercial No (but courteous)
Premier Open Access Education Journals

International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL)

Focus: Open, flexible, online, and blended learning worldwide. Publishes research articles, case studies, and reviews.
Access: Diamond open access (free to read and publish)
License: CC BY 4.0

Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning

Publisher: Distance Education Association of New Zealand
Focus: Distance education, e-learning, flexible learning, and open education
License: CC BY-NC-SA

Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D)

Publisher: Commonwealth of Learning
Focus: Learning in developing contexts, particularly relevant for African education
Access: Diamond OA, CC BY 4.0

Open Praxis

Publisher: International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
Focus: Open educational practices, MOOCs, OER implementation, and technology-enhanced learning
Access: Diamond OA

Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning

Publisher: Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education / Springer Open
Focus: Educational technology, learning analytics, and digital pedagogy
License: CC BY 4.0

African Education Journals

African Journals Online (AJOL) - Education Section

Content: 50+ African education journals, many diamond OA
Examples: Journal of Educational Management (Nigeria), African Journal of Teacher Education, South African Journal of Education

African Educational Research Journal

Focus: Educational research across Africa
Access: Diamond OA, CC BY license

Essential Databases

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)

Provider: US Department of Education
Content: Over 1.6 million education records, many with full-text access
Access: Free to search and access

EdArXiv

Type: Education research preprint repository
Content: Cutting-edge education research before formal publication
Part of: Open Science Framework

How to Verify Journal Quality

Open Educational Resources

OER Textbooks - Education

OpenStax

Provider: Rice University
Content: Free, peer-reviewed textbooks for higher education
Education Titles: Introduction to Sociology (sociology of education), Psychology (educational psychology)
License: CC BY 4.0

Open Textbook Library - Education

Provider: University of Minnesota
Content: 70+ open textbooks on teaching methods, educational psychology, instructional design
Features: Faculty reviews, adoptions tracking

OER Commons - Education Hub

Content: 50,000+ teaching and learning materials
Types: Lesson plans, full courses, modules, assessments
Levels: K-12 and higher education

Online Courses & Courseware

MIT OpenCourseWare - Education

Content: Free MIT course materials on education, learning sciences, educational technology
Includes: Lecture notes, assignments, exams, video lectures
License: CC BY-NC-SA

Khan Academy

Content: Free video lessons and practice exercises
Education Focus: Resources for teachers, classroom integration guides
Access: Completely free, no ads

FutureLearn

Content: Education and teacher training courses
Partners: British Council, UNESCO, leading universities
Access: Free to audit, certificates available for fee

African-Focused OER

African Virtual University (AVU) OER

Content: Teacher education modules, educational leadership courses
Focus: African context and development
Languages: English, French, Portuguese

National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) OER

Content: Education courses and materials relevant to Nigerian context
Access: Freely downloadable courseware

Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA)

Content: Free teacher education resources for Africa
Subjects: Literacy, numeracy, science, arts, life skills
Languages: English, French, Kiswahili, Arabic

Education Research Databases

General Education Research Databases

ERIC - Education Resources Information Center

Provider: US Department of Education
Content: 1.6+ million bibliographic records of education research and information
Coverage: 1966-present, many with free full-text access
Access: Completely free

BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine)

Content: 350+ million documents from 10,000+ repositories
Education Content: Extensive education research
Access: Free academic search engine

Google Scholar

Content: Scholarly literature across disciplines including education
Features: Citation tracking, "Cited by" links, library links
Tip: Add "filetype:pdf" to find freely available papers

Specialized Education Databases

DOAJ - Education Journals

Content: 1,400+ vetted open access education journals
Quality: All journals meet DOAJ quality criteria
Access: All journals freely accessible

EdArXiv

Type: Preprint repository for education research
Content: Cutting-edge research before peer review
Part of: Open Science Framework (OSF)

African Institutional Repositories

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Content: Largest collection of African-published scholarly journals
Education Journals: 50+ education journals from African institutions
Countries: Coverage across 30+ African nations

University of Lagos Institutional Repository

Content: Theses, dissertations, faculty publications
Education Content: Faculty of Education research outputs
Access: Open access to Nigerian education research

Ahmadu Bello University Repository (Kubanni)

Content: ABU research outputs including education
Access: Free access to Nigerian higher education research

Covenant University Repository

Content: Research from Nigeria premier private university
Education Content: Curriculum studies, educational management
Access: Open access

Tools for Education Research

Citation Management Tools (Free)

Zotero

Type: Free, open-source reference manager
Features: Browser integration, PDF management, collaborative libraries
Best for: Individual researchers and small teams

Mendeley

Type: Reference manager with social networking
Features: PDF reader, citation plugin, research network
Free tier: 2GB storage

Search Strategies

Building Effective Search Strings

Example: Finding OA research on "teacher training in Nigeria"

  1. Identify core concepts: teacher training, Nigeria
  2. Find synonyms: teacher education, teacher preparation, pre-service teachers
  3. Build search string:
    ("teacher training" OR "teacher education" OR "teacher preparation") AND (Nigeria OR Nigerian)
  4. Add filters: "open access" OR "free full text" OR filetype:pdf

Boolean Operators:

  • AND - narrows search (both terms must appear)
  • OR - broadens search (either term can appear)
  • NOT - excludes terms
  • "Quotes" - exact phrase matching

Verifying OA Journal Legitimacy

Red Flags (Predatory Journals):

  • Promises publication within days/weeks
  • Unsolicited emails inviting submissions
  • Spelling/grammar errors on website
  • No clear editorial board or fake editors
  • Hidden or unclear APCs (Article Processing Charges)

Green Flags (Legitimate OA Journals):

  • Listed in DOAJ
  • Clear peer review process described
  • Established editorial board with real scholars
  • Indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, or ERIC
  • Transparent about costs (even if free)

Check these tools:

How to Cite and Use Open Resources

Citing Open Access Articles

Cite OA articles exactly like traditional journal articles. The fact that they are open access does not change citation format.

APA 7th Edition Example:

Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.890

Attributing OER (TASL Method)

When adapting or sharing OER, use the TASL attribution format:

  • T = Title of work
  • A = Author/Creator
  • S = Source (URL)
  • L = License type

Example:

"Introduction to Curriculum Development" by African Virtual University is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Available at https://oer.avu.org/curriculum-dev

Creative Commons License Decoder

License What You Can Do Restrictions
CC BY Use, remix, adapt, even commercially Must give credit
CC BY-SA Use, remix, adapt, even commercially Must give credit + Share adaptations under same license
CC BY-NC Use, remix, adapt Must give credit + No commercial use
CC BY-NC-SA Use, remix, adapt Must give credit + No commercial use + Share-alike
CC BY-ND Use and share Must give credit + No derivatives (cannot modify)
CC0 / Public Domain Anything - no restrictions None (attribution appreciated but not required)

Learn more: Creative Commons Official License Guide

Best Practices

  • Always cite sources, even if not legally required
  • Read the license before using/adapting OER
  • Keep a record of where you found resources
  • Ask for permission if license terms are unclear
  • Attribute generously - it helps others find the original source

Need Help?

Contact FRELIP Library Services:

  • Email: library@frelip.org
  • Visit the Reference Desk for citation assistance
  • Schedule a consultation for OER selection and evaluation