Research

Learning analytics is a topic that is receiving attention from many academic fields. While the original focus seemed to surround the maths and statistical elements of learning analytics, the focused has shifted to the impact it has. For higher education institutions it is the impact that matters, ensuring that the data they are collecting is in some way enriching the lives of their students, or is supporting business intelligence. The below word cloud was created on NVivo (a qualitative data analysis computer software package) using a range of research material on learning analytics from the past five years. The word cloud perfectly highlights this switch in research with the word students as one of the most prominent. However, what is even more striking about the word cloud is the range of topics covered showing the breadth of the research being conducted.   

For those with an interest in research, organisations conducting research are provided below. However, research is ongoing in many institutions and the list below is not exhaustive. 

Key organisations: 

SoLAR (Society for Learning Analytics Research): https://solaresearch.org/ including the International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge: https://solaresearch.org/events/lak/ 

ALT (Association for Learning Technology): https://www.alt.ac.uk/  

Jisc: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/ 

SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association): https://www.seda.ac.uk/ 

HEIR Network (Higher Education Institutional Research): http://www.heirnetwork.org.uk/ 

Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy): https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ 

Open University (OU Analyse): https://analyse.kmi.open.ac.uk/