A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Education Research in India (2014-2024): Trends, Patterns, and Future Directions

A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Education Research in India (2014-2024): Trends, Patterns, and Future Directions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Education Research in India (2014-2024): Trends, Patterns, and Future Directions Sara Alrefaee, Mahlaqa Khan, Yasser M. H. Ahmed Alrefaee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5830161/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Archived Versions: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of online education research in India from 2014 to 2024, examining trends, patterns, and future directions in the context of rapid technological advancements and the transformative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing data from the Scopus database, the analysis covers 831 publications, revealing a significant annual growth rate of 16.71% in research output. The study identifies three distinct phases of research evolution: pre-pandemic stability, pandemic-driven surge, and post-pandemic consolidation. Key findings highlight the dominance of themes such as e-learning, online education, and COVID-19, with a strong emphasis on student engagement and digital transformation. The University of Delhi, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) emerge as leading contributors, while Mizoram University and Jawaharlal Nehru University achieve high citation impacts despite fewer publications. International collaborations, particularly with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have significantly influenced the field, though opportunities for multilateral partnerships remain. The study underscores the importance of targeting high-impact journals and addressing underexplored areas such as rural education, digital divide interventions, and faculty professional development. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers to enhance the quality and inclusivity of online education in India. online education e-learning bibliometric analysi... Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Archived Versions: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5830161","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2025-03-06 17:35:45","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-education","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diedu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Education](https://www.springer.com/journal/44217)","snPcode":"44217","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44217/3","title":"Discover Education","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":425213816,"identity":"4417ee0e-fab1-11ef-91e4-06cc9d20a69f","order_by":0,"name":"Sara Alrefaee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dr. Rafiq Zakaria College for Woman","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sara","middleName":"","lastName":"Alrefaee","suffix":""},{"id":425213823,"identity":"4b5eddf9-fab1-11ef-91e4-06cc9d20a69f","order_by":1,"name":"Mahlaqa Khan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dr. Rafiq Zakaria College for Woman","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mahlaqa","middleName":"","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""},{"id":425213832,"identity":"533ad68f-fab1-11ef-91e4-06cc9d20a69f","order_by":2,"name":"Yasser M. 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Utilizing data from the \u0026nbsp;Scopus database, the analysis covers 831 publications, revealing a significant annual growth rate of \u0026nbsp;16.71% in research output. The study identifies three distinct phases of research evolution: pre-pandemic stability, pandemic-driven surge, and post-pandemic consolidation. Key findings highlight \u0026nbsp;the dominance of themes such as e-learning, online education, and COVID-19, with a strong emphasis \u0026nbsp;on student engagement and digital transformation. The University of Delhi, All India Institute of \u0026nbsp;Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) emerge as leading \u0026nbsp;contributors, while Mizoram University and Jawaharlal Nehru University achieve high citation impacts \u0026nbsp;despite fewer publications. International collaborations, particularly with the United States, the United \u0026nbsp;Kingdom, and Australia, have significantly influenced the field, though opportunities for multilateral \u0026nbsp;partnerships remain. The study underscores the importance of targeting high-impact journals and \u0026nbsp;addressing underexplored areas such as rural education, digital divide interventions, and faculty \u0026nbsp;professional development. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, educators, and \u0026nbsp;researchers to enhance the quality and inclusivity of online education in India.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Education Research in India (2014-2024): Trends, Patterns, and Future Directions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-01-31 16:03:24","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5830161/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-02-05T06:52:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-04T20:50:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"277561235035799428902297529078710855464","date":"2025-02-04T16:32:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-04T14:36:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"270628944885071097130894898040965941351","date":"2025-02-04T13:52:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"53195810009212499712673590603129324874","date":"2025-02-04T07:59:39+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-04T06:44:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"169979807380136063660559525241432399119","date":"2025-02-04T05:33:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"202826044259738463263119325984363047018","date":"2025-02-04T05:21:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-02-04T05:06:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-01-30T12:40:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-01-29T11:49:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Education","date":"2025-01-15T00:17:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-education","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diedu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Education](https://www.springer.com/journal/44217)","snPcode":"44217","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44217/3","title":"Discover Education","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9583099e-c477-46ba-8d9c-2b244484b57a","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-30T14:08:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-06 17:35:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-5830161","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5830161","identity":"rs-5830161","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}