A Comprehensive Systematic Review of MOOC Research Methods, Focuses, Origins, and Outlets From 2009 to 2019

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: New Meta-Analyses in Higher Education

Abstract

In this study, the researchers reviewed 477 empirical studies of massive open online courses (MOOCs) published from 2009 to June 2019. Results revealed that: (a) the primary research approaches employed were quantitative methods, (b) surveys, platform database analysis, and interviews were the commonly used data collection methods, (c) descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analyses were the primary data analysis techniques employed, (d) the research focus was mainly on learners, followed by design-focused, context and impact-focused, and instructor-focused, (e) most studies had at least two authors, (f) the majority of authors worked collaboratively within the same country, and (g) MOOCs offered by institutions in the U.S. were researched the most followed by China, the UK, and Spain. Implications are offered.

Authors

• Meina Zhu, Wayne State University

• Annisa Sari, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Mimi Miyoung Lee, University of Houston