GAMIFICATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC APPROACH
GAMIFICATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC APPROACH

Summary/Abstract: In recent years, the interest in research concerning gamification in higher education has grown considerably. Although a simple search in Web of Science return more than 4000 papers on gamification, there are very few studies based on a bibliometric analysis. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of this field and its challenges is highly necessary and can help us better understand the diversity of gamification approaches, the ways in which various scholars, countries, institutions or universities reacted through research and scientific publications to the study of gamification in higher education space. Using a bibliometric approach, we analysed 1029 papers on gamification in higher education, indexed by Web of Science Core Collection, in Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index. In addition to the bibliometric indicators offered by Web of Science, we used the VosViewer software in order to visualize the intellectual structure, conceptual dynamics, diffusion of knowledge, development over time, research trends, core authors, top journals, leading countries and institutions, the impact of collaboration, etc. To achieve these goals, we set the following research objectives: establishing a descriptive structure (content analysis); determining the impact scientific publications have on generating new knowledge (citation and co-citation analysis); tracing collaboration patterns (co-authorship analysis) and identifying key research areas and emerging trends (co-occurrence analysis). The main findings increased our understanding of the use of gamification in higher education: we identified vital research, landmark studies in the development of the field, critical past contributions, emerging trends and potentially transformative ideas.

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