A Bibliometric Analysis of Outcome-based Education Practices in the Education Domain

Abstract

Purpose: This study attempts to provide a comprehensive knowledge mapping and an in-depth analysis of Outcome-based education (OBE) practices to identify the research hotspots and development trends in this field which emerged between 1985 and 2023. Method: This study conducted a descriptive bibliometric analysis of 685 articles retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) databases relevant to Outcome-based education. Microsoft Excel and VoSviewer were used to characterize the contributions of countries, institutions, authors, and collaborative networks. The research hot spots and development trends were analyzed by Citespace and Vosiviewer. Findings: The results highlighted that the USA, England, and China were the three primary contributors to the largest number of publications in this field. But China needs to prioritize the quality of publications. The University of Dundee, the University of Toronto, and the University of California System were the three most productive institutions with the highest number of publications. Harden R. M. stood out as one of the most prolific authors in this field. Medical Teacher and Medical Education were the two most productive journals. The teaching process, framework, quality assurance, impact, and engineering education were the highly discussed issues in recent years. Implications for Research and Practice: The identification of prolific scholars and highly cited articles serves as references for scholars and educators new to OBE, assisting them in enhancing their reading efficiency and tracking authoritative scholars. This study also suggests that the research institutions and authors should strengthen cross-regional and international cooperation to enhance the implementation of OBE in education.