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TopIntroduction
Blended learning (BL) is the product of e-learning. In 1996, the first paper about e-learning was published in the well-known American journal Training. Since then, e-learning has gradually become a research hotspot for educational technology researchers and corporate trainers (Tian & Fu, 2004). However, with the phenomenon of low efficiency, low participation, and inadequate learning in e-learning, research on e-learning has reached a low point. Blended learning, as a new learning method combining online and offline learning, has gradually attracted the attention of researchers and has been rapidly developed and applied worldwide. The Horizon Report (Higher Education Edition) mentioned BL for eight consecutive years from 2012 to 2019, affirming the advantages of BL in integrating traditional classroom learning and online learning and identifying BL as an important trend to accelerate the application of technology in higher education. This paper takes Chinese core journals as samples and uses the co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, and burst detection of CiteSpace visual analysis software. To explore the research hotspots, frontiers, and trends in the field of BL, this study involves quantitative and visual analysis from the aspects of literature quantity distribution, journal sources, research authors, research institutions, and keywords.
Data Sources and Research Methods
The database of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) served as the data source for analysis. The journal type was set as the Chinese core journal criterion of PKU and CSSCI, and the retrieval term was “article abstracts” with the search words “blended learning” or “hybrid learning” or “blended teaching” or “hybrid teaching.” Since Zhiting Zhu first introduced the concept of BL in China in 2003 (Zhu & Meng, 2003), the chosen retrieval time span was from 2003 to 2021. A total of 2,163 papers were retrieved, and 2,088 valid papers were obtained after CiteSpace screening and rechecking. Because the translation of the term blended learning varies in China, this paper uses blended learning or BL to express it uniformly. In this paper, based on the visualization analysis technology of the scientific knowledge atlas, CiteSpace 5.7. R2 served as an analysis tool to analyze the keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and keyword burst of the literature, combined with the bibliometric method and content analysis method. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the literature quantity distribution, journal sources, research authors, research institutions, research hotspots, frontiers, and trends of BL in China.
Analyses
Number of the Literature Analyses
Studies related to BL were statistically analyzed in core journals according to the publication date of the literature, as shown in Figure 1. According to the statistics, the number of studies on BL has been on the rise from 2003 to 2021. In particular, the number of articles published since 2015 has shown explosive growth, which is closely related to the concept of “Internet plus” put forward in 2015. Through bibliometric analysis, it is found that Chinese teachers and scholars are paying increasing attention to BL, and BL is still a research hotspot. At the same time, the number of studies is increasing year by year, which also indicates that BL is not mature and still needs in-depth research.
Figure 1.
Time Distribution of BL Research Papers From 2003 to 2021
Journal Source Analysis
According to the statistics of the journals to which the literature belongs, the journals containing no fewer than 10 articles are shown in Figure 2. These journals contain 1,226 articles in total, accounting for more than 70% of the total papers in the core journals of BL research. The top four journals are all educational technology journals, indicating that educational technicians are the key force in the research of BL. In addition, BL is widely used in higher education, vocational education, continuing education, experimental, medical, chemistry, and other subjects.
Figure 2.
Statistical Chart of Journal Volumes of BL