Rarely is OER adoption as simple as swapping out a traditional textbook for a free one. At Northeastern Illinois University, a psychology professor is experimenting with an OpenStax textbook in one section of her introductory course. But those involved want to know: is it effective? In that case, Alyssa Vincent, a digital-scholarship librarian, is helping design an experiment to compare student grades and satisfaction between a section taught with the traditional textbook and one taught with the free one. (To control for student costs, the college is paying for the traditional textbook.)
