Mapping the study of learning analytics in higher education

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the application of technological innovation in higher education has become more and more widely spread, and technological innovation has been improving the level of education. In the research of higher education with innovation technology, one of the main focuses is on the dynamic data which can lay a foundation for the analysis of educational activities by learning analytics. The dynamic data created by technological innovation will become the key basis for analytical research and development in higher education. The methods and analysis results of learning analytics will directly affect decision-making and strategy about higher education. In this paper, we use bibliometric and visualisation methods to review the literature, in order to highlight the development of learning analytics in higher education. Using bibliometric analysis, our study depicts the development process of the main methods used in learning analytics, and summarises the current situation in this field, which increases the level of understanding provided by those studies. Finally, we summarise the research hotspots and study trends, which will be useful for future study in this field.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• learning analytics
• documentary analysis
• library analytics

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Jinzhuo Zhang http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5531-4117

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 71722005; 71571133; 71790594].