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Where is the "theory" within the field of educational technology research?

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Title: Where is the "theory" within the field of educational technology research?
Authors: Hew, Khe Foon kfhew@hku.hk, Lan, Min, Tang, Ying, Jia, Chengyuan, Lo, Chung Kwan
Source: British Journal of Educational Technology. May2019, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p956-971. 16p. 4 Charts, 2 Graphs.
Subject Terms: *Educational technology research, *Educational technology periodicals, *Bibliographical citations, *Data analysis, *Higher education, Impact factor (Citation analysis)
Abstract: Critics often characterise the study of educational technology as under‐theorised. To test this assertion and to determine the extent of this criticism, the present paper reports an in‐depth analysis of the 503 most recent empirical articles published in three selected education‐technology‐related journals (Computers & Education; Learning, Media and Technology; and British Journal of Educational Technology). These journals were selected because they publish studies related to all education settings rather than focusing on only a certain segment such as higher education; they have broad geographical catchment; and they were the most highly ranked journals in terms of their 2017 journal citation impact factor. The present paper examines how explicitly existing theory was identified in previous research, how theories were applied and how often these theories were advanced in education technology research. In the majority of cases, explicit engagement with theory was absent. Many studies either were wholly bereft of theories or made vague use of theory. Where theory was explicit, the articles were more likely to use theory to conceptualise the research, to inform the data collection or analysis process and to discuss the results. Very few articles reported findings that help us to learn something new about a particular theory (ie, little evidence of theory advancement). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Educational Technology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Where is the "theory" within the field of educational technology research?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hew%2C+Khe+Foon%22">Hew, Khe Foon</searchLink><i> kfhew@hku.hk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lan%2C+Min%22">Lan, Min</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tang%2C+Ying%22">Tang, Ying</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jia%2C+Chengyuan%22">Jia, Chengyuan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lo%2C+Chung+Kwan%22">Lo, Chung Kwan</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22British+Journal+of+Educational+Technology%22">British Journal of Educational Technology</searchLink>. May2019, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p956-971. 16p. 4 Charts, 2 Graphs.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+technology+research%22">Educational technology research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+technology+periodicals%22">Educational technology periodicals</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bibliographical+citations%22">Bibliographical citations</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Impact+factor+%28Citation+analysis%29%22">Impact factor (Citation analysis)</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Critics often characterise the study of educational technology as under‐theorised. To test this assertion and to determine the extent of this criticism, the present paper reports an in‐depth analysis of the 503 most recent empirical articles published in three selected education‐technology‐related journals (Computers & Education; Learning, Media and Technology; and British Journal of Educational Technology). These journals were selected because they publish studies related to all education settings rather than focusing on only a certain segment such as higher education; they have broad geographical catchment; and they were the most highly ranked journals in terms of their 2017 journal citation impact factor. The present paper examines how explicitly existing theory was identified in previous research, how theories were applied and how often these theories were advanced in education technology research. In the majority of cases, explicit engagement with theory was absent. Many studies either were wholly bereft of theories or made vague use of theory. Where theory was explicit, the articles were more likely to use theory to conceptualise the research, to inform the data collection or analysis process and to discuss the results. Very few articles reported findings that help us to learn something new about a particular theory (ie, little evidence of theory advancement). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of British Journal of Educational Technology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/bjet.12770
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        Text: English
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              Text: May2019
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