Methodological approaches in MOOC research: Retracing the myth of Proteus

Abstract

This paper explores the methodological approaches most commonly adopted in the scholarly literature on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), published during the period January 2008-May 2014. In order to identify trends, gaps and criticalities related to the methodological approaches of this emerging field of research, we analysed 60 papers selected across four relevant scientific databases plus one journal in the sector of e-learning that published a special issue on this topic. The emerging picture is that of a research field in its infancy, heavily relying on theoretical research and case studies, which is just beginning to identify suitable methods to deal with large cohorts of learners, very large amounts of data and new ways of learning. The state-of-the-art is also quite fragmentary, due to the different epistemological and ontological conceptions of the authors of the papers about the nature of the issues faced and the way they should be studied. In this paper, we compare the problems related to the definition of the methodological approaches in this research field with the Greek myth of Proteus, the elusive, multiform divinity whose wisdom would only be revealed to those capable of catching him. We therefore advocate the need for catching Proteus, that is, better identifying and choosing the methodological approaches for MOOC research as a condition for its development.

Research Trends in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Theses and Dissertations: Surfing the Tsunami Wave

“…Besides, there is an increasing interest from lifelong learners, higher education institutions and for-profit platforms from 2012 onwards, which is also visualized in the Google trends for MOOCs (Figure 2). This pattern is quite similar to those reported by Liyanagunawardena et al (2013), Ebben and Murphy (2014), Sa'don et al (2014) and Raffaghelli et al (2015). Since 2012, MOOC pedagogy has gotten increased attention with clear indications for its big impact on lifelong learning as concluded in the consequent Innovation Reports from the Open University, UK (Sharples et al, 2012;2014).…”

“…While theses and dissertations used qualitative (49%), quantitative (21%), mixed (18%), review (8%) and other (4%) research methodologies (Table 1), Gasevic et al (2014) reported that of all the research submissions to MOOC Research Initiative (N = 78), 42% was mixed, 33% was quantitative and 24% was qualitative. Raffaghelli et al (2015) also reported that of all the articles they examined, 20% was mixed, 15% was quantitative and 12% was qualitative studies, 30% was theoretical-conceptual, 15% was not clear (in research design) and 8% was design based research. Looking at the research model/design, the following frequencies occur (N = 51): case study is the most used research model (31%), followed by the correlational research model (14%), literature review (8%), explanatory design (6%), exploratory design (6%) and convergent parallel design (6%).…”

What Research Says About MOOCs – An Explorative Content Analysis

“…The 21 st century witnessed an educational paradigm shift, stemming from the widespread use of (Weller, 2014): It is suggested There have been some efforts in academia to understand and analyse the MOOC phenomenon; several papers have examined MOOC research in academic journals (Ebben & Murphy, 2014;Gasevic, Kovanovic, Joksimovic, & Siemens, 2014;Kennedy, 2014;Liyanagunawardena et al, 2013;Raffaghelli, Cucchiara, & Persico, 2015;Sa'don, Alias, & Ohshima, 2014;Sangrà, González-Sanmamed, & Anderson, 2015;Veletsianos & Shepherdson, 2015Bozkurt, Akgün-Özbek, & Zawacki-Richter, 2017). These papers examined aspects of MOOC research such as methodology, pedagogy, and theory.…”

A Learning Analytics Approach for Evaluating the Impact of Interactivity in Online Video Lectures on the Attention Span of Students

“…Online video lectures are becoming a main component of online learning within formal courses and informal learning environments, such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (Daniel, 2012;Kalman, 2014;Raffaghelli, Cucchiara, & Persico, 2015;Siemens, Gašević, & Dawson, 2015). Online video lectures have been successfully used for supporting face-to-face learning (Boton & Gregory, 2015;Brecht, 2012;Kinash, Knight, & McLean, 2015;Whatley & Ahmad, 2007;Wieling & Hofman, 2010), as well as in-class learning, e.g., when there is a need to show students visual elements (Ostashewski, Reid, & Ostashewski, 2016).…”