The Research Development of Big Data in Education: A Bibliometric Analysis Based on Citespace

Big data, characterized by rich information, wide coverage, high value and universality, is applied in all fields including education. Educational researchers are focused on how to apply big data technology to the educational domain rationally. This paper examines the research status quo by reporting an analysis of research literature related to the application of big data in the fields of education, searched on the WOS (Web of Science). The analyses included the amount of literature, areas of distribution, journals in which the articles were published, research hotspots and research trends, using bibliometric analysis software CiteSpace and NoteExpress. The paper summarizes the research results, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of current research, and puts forward some suggestions that can be used as reference in later research of big data in education.