Technology in Mathematics and Science Distance Education: Automated Textual Analysis of Articles and Proceedings Papers using Leximancer

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of 30 recent journal articles and proceedings papers addressing the use of technology in mathematics and science distance education. The analysis is performed using Leximancer (2017), an automated textual analytics tool. The study asks, 1) “Which concepts occur most frequently relative to each discipline?”; 2) “How do frequent concepts vary between the disciplines?”; 3) “Which themes emerge as most characteristic of this discourse”; and “What do the disciplinary document sets have in common?”. The findings offer strong evidence in support of a conjecture that discourse associated with the use of technology in distance education is conducted by mathematics and science education scholars using systematically different concepts and themes to represent their interests, methods, and findings.