This lecture describes the organization and kinds of pedagogical research undertaken in the United Kingdom Open University and, through a case study of educational research in the recently introduced Arts Foundation Course (A102), to show how one type of research can contribute to course organization and development. The Institute of Educational Technology (IET), a unit within the Open University, is primarily involved in pedagogical research and is the focus of this paper. Types of educational research discussed include comparative-evaluative research, investigative-evaluative research, and action-research or theoretical-investigative research. Research methods are also mentioned with interviews and surveys emerging as primary data collection tools. The lecture concludes with a brief discussion of some issues central to the organization, conduct, and purposes of pedagogical research in distance education. (10 references) (DB)