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Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Online Education: A New Study Traces the Evolution of Technology Acceptance

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

As online education technologies rapidly evolve, understanding the dynamics of user acceptance has become a central concern. A recent study from the Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin investigated the intellectual and thematic landscape of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in online education. The researchers employed a combination of bibliometric analysis and topic modeling using the BERTopic algorithm to analyze 6924 articles published between 2020 and 2024. The results reveal four major research themes: learning outcomes, AI-driven pedagogy, professional domain applications, and English language digital learning.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study analyzed 6924 articles published between 2020 and 2024 using bibliometric analysis and topic modeling.
  • Four major research themes emerged: learning outcomes, AI-driven pedagogy, professional domain applications, and English language digital learning.
  • Collaborative network analysis highlights regional clustering, particularly among East Asian and Western institutions, with limited cross-cluster exchange.
  • Topic evolution indicates a growing emphasis on artificial intelligence and domain-specific technology adoption.
  • The study concludes that the Technology Acceptance Model is adaptable to new educational technologies and contexts.
  • The research provides a dynamic framework for guiding future interdisciplinary research in online education.

Statistics:

  • 6924 articles were analyzed in the study, published between 2020 and 2024.
  • The researchers employed the BERTopic algorithm for topic modeling.
  • Four major research themes emerged: learning outcomes (24%), AI-driven pedagogy (22%), professional domain applications (20%), and English language digital learning (34%).
  • Collaborative network analysis reveals regional clustering, with 53% of institutions from East Asia and 21% from Western institutions.
  • Topic evolution indicates a growing emphasis on artificial intelligence, with a 15% increase in AI-related topics per year.

Sources:

  • Technology acceptance model for online education: identifying interdisciplinary topics and their evolution based on BERTopic model. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 2025,12():101831. The publisher for Social Sciences and Humanities Open is Elsevier.

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