Open AccessTrends and Patterns in Distance Education (2014–2019): A Synthesis of Scholarly Publications and a Visualization of the Intellectual Landscape
Author(s) -
Aras Bozkurt,
Olaf ZawackiRichter
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international review of research in open and distance learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.436
H-Index - 68
ISSN - 1492-3831
DOI - 10.19173/irrodl.v22i2.5381
Subject(s) - field (mathematics) , data science , social network analysis , analytics , distance education , learning analytics , visualization , bibliometrics , educational research , open education , computer science , social media , knowledge management , sociology , world wide web , social science , pedagogy , data mining , mathematics , pure mathematics
The field of distance education (DE) is dynamic and constantly evolving; it reflects and adapts according to changes in socio-cultural, demographic, political, and technological domains. Thus, there is a need to understand past and present activities in the field, in order to better inform future research. The main purpose of this study was to examine DE research through data mining and analytics approaches, using social network analysis (SNA) and text mining to conduct a bibliographic analysis. The findings highlighted three main strands of DE research: (a) issues related to open education; (b) the design, support, and quality assurance of online DE; and (c) the implementation and use of educational technology, media, and digital tools. SNA of the bibliometric data identified pivotal theoretical contributions, including that the fields of distance education and educational technology converge. The article concludes with recommendations for future research directions.