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Research at The Open University

Research news and articles

A scrapbook willed with clippings about music

During the Troubles, music shaped alternative identities for a generation of Northern Irish teenagers

During the Troubles, a harrowing 30-year conflict over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, music opened up alternative ways of understanding identity.

15th July 2026

A container ship entering a port in New York with skyscrapers in the background

Why the US economy stays strong even when its policies shock the rest of the world

Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economics at The Open University, explores why the US economy is continuing to grow faster and generating more new jobs than Europe.

14th July 2026

A lady holding a mobile phone with her arms resting on a red cushion, with an open notebook and pen on a table on front of her. Gajus/Shutterstock

Digital poverty is holding university students back

When a student can’t submit their essay because the household’s only device is being used by three siblings for school, or because their mobile data ran out mid-lecture, they are experiencing digital poverty.

6th July 2026

Three ladies and two men standing together in a row, with the words EDEN Best Research Paper Award 2026 on the bottom left-hand side of the image

OU researchers win prestigious EDEN Best Research Paper Award

Researchers from The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology have received international recognition at the 2026 EDEN Annual Conference in Porto, with two papers shortlisted for the prestigious EDEN Best Research Paper Award and one selected as the overall winner.

3rd July 2026

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Interested in research? Check out the new Open University research video series 'So What?' to find out more about some of the impactful research happening at The Open University.

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Updated 30 June 2026

Research that transforms lives