CLEER CURATION CRITERIA

The Clearinghouse of Engineering Education Resources (CLEER) is a curated online digital repository for high-quality engineering education resources. CLEER resources are curated and embedded using generative AI.

Therefore, all resources in the database have been checked by GenAI against the guidelines given by experts in the field, as specified below.

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DELPHI STUDY ON WHAT MAKES EER LITERATURE "GOOD"

The curation criteria were defined by a group of seven (7) engineering education experts from the EuroTeQ Expert Team on Engineering Education Research. The experts were selected based on their experience in engineering education research, their prominent publication record, and their recognition in the field. Experts participated in a three-round Delphi study on quality assurance of literature in engineering education research, which involved:

  1. An "Open-ended questionnaire on what makes a research paper of 'high-quality'."
  2. "Feedback on categories of recommendations from the first round and on the draft definition of engineering education research."
  3. "Categorisation of curation criteria into 'disclaimers' and 'deal breakers'."

There was a high level of agreement among experts.

DEFINING ENGINEERING EDUCATION RESEARCH

Engineering education research (EER) is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding and enhancing learning, teaching, and support processes in both formal and informal learning environments for engineers, engineering students, and non-engineers.

1. Engineering

Described as a creative and social process of solving human problems, drawing on mathematics and natural sciences, using an iterative and empirical approach.

2. Interdisciplinary Approach

EER is social scientific and humanities research that examines education and learning processes, adopting systematic research methods from social sciences and humanities (e.g., psychology, sociology, history, philosophy).

3. Focus on Learning and Teaching

EER investigates learning processes, teaching practices, and educational support within engineering contexts.

4. Broad Educational Scope

The research spans the entire spectrum of education, from primary to higher education and lifelong learning, including informal learning environments.

CLEER INCLUSION CRITERIA

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Note: All resources were only curated using Large Language Models (LLMs). You can read more about that here.
  • The resource must be on the topic of engineering education research.
  • Ethical standards must be clearly reported and thoroughly followed.
  • Literature overview must be included and have at least 5 (five) references.
  • Research questions, objectives, hypothesis, or aims must be clearly stated when relevant.
  • Methodology section must include a clear methodological description, appropriate for the research question.
  • Data representation must be clear and consistent with the methodology and the results.
  • The results should not be reported or discussed in a biased manner, i.e., no cherry-picking.
  • The resource needs to include the discussion and/or conclusion section that is related to the research question and connected to previous literature.

CLEER DISCLAIMERS

Some resources, while useful, might have shortcomings and would be assigned a disclaimer.

Limited theoretical framework

The resource might not have a clear description of the theoretical framework that was used for the study.

Limited methodology

Possible issues with the methodology section, including:

  • research design description is not complete
  • study context (e.g., population descriptors) is incomplete
  • methodological instruments are not described well

Missing limitations

Each resource should consider and discuss the study from the perspective of possible limitations.

Biased literature review

Possible issues with the literature review, including:

  • limited review (<10 references)
  • include only older literature (10+ years)
  • includes only newer literature (<10 years)
  • no critical assessment of the literature (only listing)

Ill-fitting methodology

The described methodology might not be best suited for addressing the research questions.

Limited data representation

Possible issues with data representation, specifically:

  • qualitative and mixed methods require representation of qualitative data (e.g., quotes, results of thematic analysis)
  • quantitative and mixed methods require representation of quantitative data (e.g., graphs, tables, means)

Limited discussion

Possible issues with discussion or conclusion section:

  • discussion is not connected to the research questions
  • discussion is not connected to previous research

Limited educational practice

The educational practice is either unknown or described in a limited way (e.g., it is unclear which educational practice was used in the intervention).