Hsu, Y.-C., Ho, H. N. J., Tsai, C.-C., Hwang, G.-J., Chu, H.-C., Wang, C.-Y., & Chen, N.-S. (2012). Research Trends in Technology-based Learning from 2000 to 2009: A content Analysis of Publications in Selected Journals. Educational Technology & Society, 15 (2), 354–370. 354 ISSN 1436-4522 (online) and 1176-3647 (print). © International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than IFETS must be honoured. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. 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Research Trends in Technology-based Learning from 2000 to 2009: A content Analysis of Publications in Selected Journals Yu-Chen Hsu 1 , Hsin Ning Jessie Ho 1* , Chin-Chung Tsai 1 , Gwo-Jen Hwang 1 , Hui-Chun Chu 2 , Chin-Yeh Wang 3 and Nian-Shing Chen 4 1 Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, #43, Sec. 4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan // 2 Department of Computer Science and Information Management, Soochow University, 56 Kueiyang Street, Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 100, R.O.C. // 3 Research Center for Science and Technology for Learning, National Central University, No.300, Jhongda Rd., Jhongli City, Taoyuan County 32001, Taiwan R.O.C. // 4 Department of Information Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, No. 70, Lien Hai Rd., Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 80424, R.O.C. // hsuyuchen@mail.ntust.edu.tw // hojessie@gmail.com // cctsai@mail.ntust.edu.tw // gjhwang.academic@gmail.com // carolhcchu@gmail.com // chinyeawang@gmail.com // nschen@mis.nsysu.edu.tw *Corresponding author (Submitted April 18, 2011; Revised June 5, 2011; Accepted July 12, 2011) ABSTRACT This paper provides a content analysis of studies in technology-based learning (TBL) that were published in five Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) journals (i.e. the British Journal of Educational Technology, Computers & Education, Educational Technology Research & Development, Educational Technology & Society, the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning) from 2000 to 2009. A total of 2,976 articles were cross-analyzed by three categories including research topic, research sample group, and learning domain. It was found that “Pedagogical design and theories” was the most popular research topic, “Higher Education” was the most utilized sample group, and “Non-specified” and “Engineering/Computer sciences” were the most selected learning domains in the last decade. However, topics in “Motivation, Perceptions and Attitudes” drew more attention in the latest five years, while the number of articles in “Digital game and intelligent toy enhanced learning” and “Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning” grew significantly between 2005 and 2009. Furthermore, the Chi-square analysis results showed that there were significant associations among these three categories. The results of the analysis provide insights for educators and researchers into research trends and patterns of technology-based learning. Keywords Research trends, Technology-based learning, Content analysis Introduction Technology-based learning is increasingly important in the 21 st century. However, studies in analyzing its appropriateness, its application and practices, and its influence on today’s education are still under debate and discussions (e.g. Chan, Hue, Chou, & Tzeng, 2001; Shih, Feng, & Tsai, 2008). Besides, numerous studies in this area have explored a wide range of topics, such as the improvement in technology-based learning environments, the effectiveness of web-based instruction, and the integration of new technology into classrooms. Therefore, reviewing the research trend of technology-based learning may help the researchers in related fields to identify their research interests and design considerations. Besides, the study will also provide policymakers with a reference to make plans in the future. Hence, it is important and meaningful to examine the technology-based learning research trends at this point. This study intends to investigate the research trends of technology-based learning from 2000 to 2009. Five major research journals were selected for analysis, namely the British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET), Computers and Education (C&E), Educational Technology Research & Development (ETR&D), Educational Technology & Society (ET&S), and the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCAL). The research questions addressed by this paper include: 1. What research topics related to technology-based learning were published in these selected journals from 2000 to