Twenty-Five Years of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning: A Bibliometric Analysis

Authors

  • Carlos J. Torres-Vergara Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8362-215X
  • Victor G. Alfaro-García Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0412-2166
  • José M. Merigó School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4672-6961
  • Amara Atif School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0381-0343
  • Rory McGreal Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4393-0921

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v26i2.8662

Keywords:

bibliometrics, Scopus, open and distributed learning, Web of Science

Abstract

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL) published its first issue in 2000. This paper provides an overview of the journal’s development over its 25-year history using bibliometric indicators. We analyzed IRRODL’s performance relative to other journals in the field and have highlighted key contributing countries, institutions, and authors based on the Scopus database. Our approach used various bibliometric techniques, including the number of articles and citations, cites per paper, and the h-index. The findings reveal that IRRODL is a leading journal in open and distributed learning, attracting a diverse group of authors from institutions and countries worldwide. Currently, Athabasca University is by far the most productive university, and the United States and Canada are the most productive countries appearing in the journal. However, the journal is very diverse with publications from all over the world.

Author Biographies

Carlos J. Torres-Vergara, Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

Carlos J. Torres-Vergara, Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

Mr. Torres-Vergara is a PhD student at the Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (Mexico). He holds a Bachelor Degree in History and a Master Degree in Law and International Studies from the University of Barcelona, and a Master of Business Administration from the EAE Business School (Spain). He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Business at the University of Barcelona. He is currently interested in bibliometrics, decision making and fuzzy systems.

Victor G. Alfaro-García, Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

Víctor G. Alfaro-Garcia, Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences, Michioacana University of San Nicolas of Hidalgo, Gral. Francisco J. Mugica s/n, 58030, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

Prof. Alfaro-Garcia is a Professor at the Faculty of Accounting and Administrative Sciences at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (Mexico). He holds a Bachelor and a Master Degree in Business Administration from the same university, and a PhD degree from the University of Barcelona (Spain). He has published more than 100 articles in journals, books and conference proceedings. He is currently interested in bibliometrics, fuzzy logic and decision sciences.

José M. Merigó, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia

José M. Merigó, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia.

Prof. Merigó is a Professor at the School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney. He has published more than 500 articles on journals, books and conference proceedings. Since 2015 he is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics (Thomson & Reuters) in Computer Science (2015-2020) and Cross-Field (2021-present). He has also appeared in many other international rankings including the Standford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List, Research.com, ScholarGPS, and AD Scientific Index. He is currently interested in decision making, aggregation operators, computational intelligence, bibliometrics and applications in business and social sciences.

Amara Atif, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia

Amara Atif, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, 81 Broadway, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia.

Dr Amara Atif is a Lecturer (equivalent to an Assistant Professor in the American system) at the School of Computer Science within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Amara is an expert in educational technology, with a comprehensive skill set that includes research and development in the design of technology-enhanced learning environments, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence in education, and learning analytics/educational data mining. She has published many articles in journals, books and conference proceedings.

Rory McGreal, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada

Rory McGreal, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada.

Prof. Rory McGreal is the UNESCO//International Council for Open and Distance Education Chair in Open Educational Resources (OER); and Director of the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) at Athabasca University. He is presently on leave from his position as Editor-in-Chief of IRRODL (International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning).  He is the founder of the OER Knowledge Cloud, a repository of research articles on OER. Previous positions include Assoc. VP Research, Executive Director of TeleEducation NB, a Canadian province-wide elearning network and Supervisor at Contact North/Contact Nord in Ontario.  He is also the recipient of several national and international awards for open and distance learning.

References

Akturk, A. O. (2022). Thirty‐five years of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning: A bibliometric overview. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 38(5), 1220–1253. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12686

Alonso, S., Cabrerizo, F. J., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2009). h-index: A review focused on its variants, computation, and standardization for different scientific fields. Journal of Informetrics, 3(4), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2009.04.001

Anderson, T., Cookson, P. S., Henderson, S., & McGreal, R. (2025). Twenty-five years of innovation and knowledge sharing: The legacy and future of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 26(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v26i1.8490

Arrow, K. J., Bernheim, B. D., Feldstein, M. S., McFadden, D. L., Poterba, J. M., & Solow, R. M. (2011). 100 years of the American Economic Review: The top 20 articles. American Economic Review, 101(1), 1–8. https://www.doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.1.1

Bar-llan, J. (2008). Informetrics at the beginning of the 21 century—A review. Journal of Informetrics, 2(1), 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2007.11.001

Bensman, S. J. (2007). Garfield and the impact factor. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. 41(1) 93–155. https://doi.org/10.1002/aris.2007.1440410110

Bergstrom, C. T., West, J. D., & Wiseman, M. A. (2008). The Eigenfactor Metrics. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(45), 11433–11434. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0003-08.2008

Broadus, R. N. (1987). Toward a definition of “Bibliometrics.” Scientometrics, 12(5–6), 373–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016680

Chen, X., Zou, D., & Xie, H. (2020). Fifty years of British Journal of Educational Technology: A topic modeling based bibliometric perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(3), 692–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12907

Cheng, B., Wang, M., Mørch, A. I., Chen, N. S., Kinshuk, & Spector, J. M. (2014). Research on e-learning in the workplace 2000–2012: A bibliometric analysis of the literature. Educational Research Review, 11, 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.01.001

Clarivate. (2024). Journal citation reports. Clarivate. https://clarivate.com/academia-government/scientific-and-academic-research/research-funding-analytics/journal-citation-reports/

Cole, F. J., & Eales, N. B. (1917). The history of comparative anatomy: Part 1 – A statistical analysis of the literature. Science Progress, 11(44), 578–596. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43426882

Ding, Y., Rousseau, R., & Wolfram, D. (Eds.). (2014). Measuring scholarly impact: Methods and practice. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-10377-8

Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070

Durak, G., Çankaya, S., & Can, S. (2024). Artificial intelligence in education: A bibliometric study on its role in transforming teaching and learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 25(3), 219–244. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v25i3.7757

Durepos, G., Maclean, M., Alcadipani, R., & Cummings, S. (2020). Historical reflections at the intersection of past and future: Celebrating 50 years of Management Learning. Management Learning, 51(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507619879603

Figuerola-Wischke, A., Merigó, J. M., Gil-Lafuente, A. M., Kydland, F. E., & Amiguet, L. (2024). The Scandinavian Journal of Economics at 125: A bibliometric overview. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 126(4), 643–697. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjoe.12582

Garfield, E. (1955). Citation indexes for science: A new dimension in documentation through association of ideas. Science, 122(3159), 108–111. https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.122.3159.108

Glanzel, W., Moed, H. F., Schmoch, U., & Thelwall, M. (2019). Springer handbook of science and technology indicators. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-02511-3

Hallinger, P. (2023). An empirical reflection on Educational Administration Quarterly’s distinctive contributions to the field, 1965–2020. Educational Administration Quarterly, 59(5), 884–913. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X231200883

Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(46), 16569–16572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507655102

Hussain, W., Merigó, J. M., Rahimi, I., & Lev, B. (2025). Half a century of Omega—The International Journal of Management Science: A bibliometric analysis. Omega-International Journal of Management Science, 133, Article 103226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2024.103226

Jordan, K. (2014). Initial trends in enrolment and completion of massive open online courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i1.1651

Liyanagunawardena, T. R., Adams, A. A., & Williams, S. A. (2013). MOOCs: A systematic study of the published literature 2008–2012. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14(3), 202–227. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i3.1455

Merigó, J. M., Cancino, C., Coronado, F., & Urbano, D. (2016). Academic research in innovation: A country analysis. Scientometrics, 108, 559–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1984-4

Monastersky, R., & Van Noorden, R. (2019). 150 years of Nature: A data graphic charts our evolution. Nature, 575(7781), 22–23. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03305-w

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, N. P., & Bachrach, D. G. (2008). Scholarly influence in the field of management: A bibliometric analysis of the determinants of university and author impact in the management literature in the past quarter century. Journal of Management, 34(4), 641–720. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308319533

Pritchard, A. (1969). Statistical bibliography or bibliometrics? Journal of Documentation, 25, 348–349.

Rialp, A., Merigó, J. M., Cancino, C. A., & Urbano, D. (2019). Twenty-five years (1992–2016) of the International Business Review: A bibliometric overview. International Business Review, 28(6), Article 101587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2019.101587

Rojas-Sánchez, M. A., Palos-Sánchez, P. R., & Folgado-Fernández, J. A. (2023). Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis on virtual reality and education. Education and Information Technologies, 28, 155–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11167-5

Rousseau, R. (2014). Forgotten founder of bibliometrics. Nature, 510, 218. https://doi.org/10.1038/510218e

Rovai, A. P. (2002). Building sense of community at a distance. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v3i1.79

Scopus. (2024). Scopus Database. https://www.scopus.com/

Tukey, J. W. (1977). Exploratory data analysis. Addison-Wesley.

Wilson, M. L. (2022). Topics, author profiles, and collaboration networks in the Journal of Research on Technology in Education: A bibliometric analysis of 20 years of research. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 56(3), 291–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2022.2134236

Zurita, G., Mulet-Forteza, C., Merigó, J. M., Lobos-Ossandon, V., & Ogata, H. (2022). A bibliometric overview of the IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 15(6), 656–672. https://www.doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2022.3204457

Downloads

Published

2025-05-08

How to Cite

Torres-Vergara, C. J., Alfaro-García, V. G., Merigó, J. M., Atif, A., & McGreal, R. (2025). Twenty-Five Years of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning: A Bibliometric Analysis. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 26(2), 286–306. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v26i2.8662

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Research Notes

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The copyright for all content published in IRRODL remains with the authors.

This copyright agreement and usage license ensure that the article is distributed as widely as possible and can be included in any scientific or scholarly archive.

You are free to

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms below:

  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.