Trends in Educational Research about e-Learning: A Systematic Literature Review (2009–2018)

Jesús Valverde-Berrocoso, María del Carmen Garrido-Arroyo, Carmen Burgos-Videla and María Belén Morales-Cevallos
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Jesús Valverde-Berrocoso: Department of Education Sciences, Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Extremadura, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
María del Carmen Garrido-Arroyo: Department of Education Sciences, Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Extremadura, Avenida de la Universidad s/n, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Carmen Burgos-Videla: Director of Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Sociales y Educación, University of Atacama, Avenida Copayapu #485, Campus Rómulo J. Peña, Copiapó 1530000, Chile
María Belén Morales-Cevallos: Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Education Sciences, Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, Avenida Presidente Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola, Guayaquil 090615, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: The concept of e-learning is a technology-mediated learning approach of great potential from the educational perspective and it has been one of the main research lines of Educational Technology in the last decades. The aim of the present systematic literature review (SLR) was to identify (a) the research topics; (b) the most relevant theories; (c) the most researched modalities; and (d) the research methodologies used. To this end, the PRISMA protocol was followed, and different tools were used for the bibliographic management and text-mining. The literature selection was carried out in three first-quartile journals indexed in JCR-SSCI specialized in Educational Technology. A total of 248 articles composed the final sample. The analysis of the texts identified three main nodes: (a) online students; (b) online teachers; and (c) curriculum-interactive learning environments. It was revealed that MOOC was the most researched e-learning modality. The Community of Inquiry and the Technological Acceptance Model, were the most used theories in the analyzed studies. The most frequent methodology was case study. Finally, the conclusions regarding the objectives of our SRL are presented: Main themes and research sub-themes, most researched e-learning modality, most relevant theoretical frameworks on e-learning, and typologies of research methodologies.

Keywords: e-learning; educational technology; educational research; text-mining; systematic literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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