An Investigation of Distance Education in North American Research Literature Using Co-word Analysis

dc.creator	Albert D. Ritzhaupt
dc.date	2010-03-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-08-12T11:20:14Z
dc.date.available	2015-08-12T11:20:14Z
dc.identifier	1492-3831
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/94cfb8ae7c70437896ab8b3748b2773f
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/28118
dc.description	The field of distance education is composed of a multiplicity of topics leading to a vast array of research literature. However, the research does not provide a chronological picture of the topics it addresses, making it difficult to develop an overview of the evolution and trends in the literature. To address this issue, a co-word analysis was performed on the abstracts (N = 517) of research articles found in two prominent North American research journals, the American Journal of Distance Education and the Journal of Distance Education, between 1987 and 2005. The analysis yielded underlying trends and themes for three different periods (pre-Web, emerging Web, and maturing Web). Additionally, similarity index analyses were conducted across time periods. The pre-Web era was characterized by the need for quality and development. The emerging Web era was characterized by the development of theory. The maturing Web era was characterized by interaction and the use of tools for communication. The results demonstrate that the North American distance education research literature is characterized by having few consistent and focused lines of inquiry. Conclusions are provided.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Athabasca University
dc.relation	http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/763/1483
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 11, Iss 1 (2010)
dc.subject	Distance education
dc.subject	co-word analysis
dc.subject	similarity index analysis
dc.subject	themes
dc.subject	trends
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	An Investigation of Distance Education in North American Research Literature Using Co-word Analysis
dc.type	article