Computational and Text Analysis Methods Open access Peer reviewed

What educational researchers present: Trends in research topics and methods based on conference abstracts

Izaak Dekker, Efthimia Smixioti, Martijn Meeter

European Educational Research Journal | Jun 29, 2026

Abstract

Abstract

This study examined trends in educational research topics and methodologies by analysing conference abstracts from major international conferences between 2010 and 2024. We inductively analysed 28,000 abstracts from yearly American and European conferences (2010–2024) using structural topic modelling and deductively coded 3342 abstracts from five conferences across Asia, Europe, and America for the years 2013, 2018, and 2023. Worldwide, attention increased for sustainability, emotions, wellbeing, and tertiary education. Tertiary education is now studied twice as often as primary education. Methodologically, the proportion of intervention and methodological studies decreased from 17% to 9% and from 7% to 4% respectively, while the proportion of qualitative and review studies increased. We use Principal-Agent theory to critically question these trends.

Direct answer

What can I do from this paper page?

Use this page to scan "What educational researchers present: Trends in research topics and methods based on conference abstracts" quickly: start with the summary and abstract, then check the authors, source, topics, and related papers. From here, open Scollr to follow Computational and Text Analysis Methods research, save the paper, or map adjacent work.

Authors

Researchers on this paper

Izaak Dekker

first | Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences | ORCID 0000-0002-6858-4001

Efthimia Smixioti

middle | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Martijn Meeter

last | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | ORCID 0000-0002-5112-6717

Research areas

Follow related topics

Citation

BibTeX

@article{Dekker2026What,
  title = {What educational researchers present: Trends in research topics and methods based on conference abstracts},
  author = {Izaak Dekker and Efthimia Smixioti and Martijn Meeter},
  journal = {European Educational Research Journal},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1177/14749041261459565},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041261459565}
}

FAQ

Using this paper in a discovery workflow

How do I find related work for this paper?

Use the related papers and topic links on this page as starting points. In Scollr, you can also open the paper and build a literature map around its references, citing papers, and related work.

How can I keep up with new Computational and Text Analysis Methods research papers?

Follow Computational and Text Analysis Methods research in Scollr. New papers from the topic flow into a personalized feed, and you can save useful studies to revisit later.

Can I cite this paper from this page?

This page includes a static BibTeX block for What educational researchers present: Trends in research topics and methods based on conference abstracts. Always verify the DOI, source, and publication details against the publisher record before submitting a manuscript.

Follow this research in Scollr

Follow the topics and authors behind this paper, save useful studies, and build a literature map when you are ready to go deeper.

Get the app