Trends in Research on Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education (1985-2025): A bibliometric analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51454/jet.v7i2.886Keywords:
artificial inteliigence, bibliometric analysis, education, global research, higher educationAbstract
The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about significant changes to the higher education ecosystem and spurred growing academic interest in its application. This study aims to map the development, trends, and research areas of Artificial Intelligence in higher education institutions during the period 1985–2025 using a bibliometric analysis approach. Data were obtained from the Scopus database, comprising a total of 1,807 articles meeting the inclusion criteria based on the PRISMA guidelines. The analysis was conducted using VOSviewer software to identify publication trends, country and institutional productivity, the most influential articles, dominant disciplines, and frequently researched keyword networks. The results indicate a significant increase in the number of publications since 2019, peaking in 2025. The social sciences and computer science are the main contributors, with the research focus shifting from the technical implementation of AI to ethical issues, academic integrity, and generative AI. China and the United States dominate research productivity, whilst developing countries such as Indonesia are beginning to show increasing contributions. Keyword network analysis identifies six main clusters of AI research in higher education. The research contributions provide a comprehensive overview of the direction of AI research development and identify research gaps for future interdisciplinary studies.
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