DRAWING THE BIG PICTURE OF OPEN EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of research on open education through bibliometric analysis. English-language articles published between 1955 and 2024 in the Scopus and Web of Science databases were selected for analysis. A variety of analytical techniques were employed, including descriptive analysis, co-authorship analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and citation analysis. The findings of this study indicated that research on open education steadily increased until 2020, after which it began to decline. The study also revealed that open education research is conducted globally, though it is predominantly concentrated in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the majority of research in open education focuses on massive open online courses, followed by open educational resources. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning was identified as the journal with the highest number of open education articles across both databases. The research findings discussed in detail, and suggestions for future research are provided. This study offers an overview of open education research, assesses the current state of the field, and provides guidance for future investigations.