The impact of the pandemic on distance education publications: A bibliometric analysis study

This study aims to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic publications and contribute to the literature. The articles published between 1992 and 2024 in the Web of Science database with the keyword "Distance Education" were analyzed and examined using bibliometric analysis methods, comparing three periods: 1,275 articles in the pre-pandemic period, 1,441 articles in the pandemic period, and 820 articles in the post-pandemic period. The study reveals a significant increase in the number of publications during the pandemic period, followed by a decreasing trend. Most articles were published in English, followed by Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages. The authors with the most publications in each period were Bozkurt A., Bervell B., and Gunter A. The articles were mostly concentrated in the fields of educational research, computer science, and psychology. The institutions that contributed the most were the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Open University of England, and Anadolu University. In terms of countries, Brazil, the United States, and Turkey were the countries with the most publications. According to the citation analysis, the average number of citations per publication was at its highest level before the COVID-19 pandemic. This rate decreased during the pandemic. Additionally, the most cited publications include studies such as "Learner readiness for online learning", "Exploring the factors affecting MOOC retention" and "A Pedagogical Framework for Mobile Learning" Since the COVID-19 period, "COVID-19" has been among the most frequently used keywords. Recommendations have been made to researchers who will conduct research on this topic in light of the research findings.