Mapping Educational Service Quality Research: A Bibliometric and Science Mapping Analysis of Research Trends and Thematic Evolution (2011–2026)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59247/ijase.v3i1.153Keywords:
Educational Service Quality, Bibliometric Analysis, Science Mapping, Student Satisfaction, SERVQUAL, Higher EducationAbstract
This study aims to analyze publication trends, thematic structures, collaboration patterns, and emerging research directions in educational service quality studies indexed in the Scopus database between 2011 and 2026. A total of 70 journal articles were selected through a PRISMA-based screening process from an initial dataset of 193 documents. The analysis employed bibliometric and science mapping techniques, including publication trend analysis, co-authorship analysis, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence analysis. Bibliometrix (R-package) was used for descriptive bibliometric analysis, while VOSviewer was utilized to visualize thematic relationships and research networks. The findings indicate a significant increase in publication output after 2019, reflecting growing academic interest in educational service quality evaluation. Research in this field is predominantly concentrated within social sciences and management disciplines, with SERVQUAL, student satisfaction, higher education, and service quality emerging as the most dominant themes. The keyword evolution analysis demonstrates a transition from descriptive and perception-based evaluation approaches toward more outcome-oriented research focusing on institutional performance and student experience. The collaboration analysis reveals relatively fragmented research networks among authors and institutions, indicating opportunities for stronger interdisciplinary and international collaboration. The existing literature remains heavily dependent on traditional survey-based methodologies, while advanced analytical approaches such as learning analytics, machine learning, predictive modelling, and intelligent decision support systems remain underexplored within educational service quality research. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive bibliometric overview of the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of educational service quality research. The findings offer insights for researchers, educational institutions, and policymakers in developing more data-driven, interdisciplinary, and technology-oriented approaches for evaluating and improving educational service quality.
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