Research Summary: Educational Short Videos: Bibliometric Trends, Thematic Structure, and Operationalisation

Research into educational short videos is growing significantly, with a sharp increase in publications since the mid-2010s. This field, however, is characterized by broad application of the 'educational short video' label to diverse resources, leading to complexities in comparison and synthesis of evidence. A comprehensive analysis of over 2,000 records from Web of Science and Scopus identified 'Skill Development in Educational Contexts' as the predominant thematic area, while noting the dispersed nature of research across various outlets.

Why it matters

The rapid growth and thematic diversity in educational short video research highlight its increasing relevance across disciplines and learning contexts. Understanding the fragmented nature of this research is crucial for developing cohesive strategies for content creation, learning design, and policy, ensuring that resources are effectively leveraged for educational outcomes.

Key insights

• Research on educational short videos has seen a substantial increase in publication output since the mid-2010s.
• The label 'educational short video' is applied broadly, encompassing resources that vary in function, activity, context, and evaluation.
• This broad application complicates comparative analysis and evidence synthesis within the research domain.
• Bibliometric analysis, topic modelling, and structured content analysis were used on 2,169 records up to June 2026.
• Research is dispersed across numerous outlets rather than concentrated in a few key publications.
• 'Skill Development in Educational Contexts' was identified as the largest among 16 first-level research topics.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.06932