Capturing knowledge trajectories of mobile learning research: A main path analysis

With the development of mobile communication technology and the widespread popularization of mobile devices, mobile learning (m-learning) as a new learning model has achieved rapid development in many fields. Therefore, it is essential to clearly describe the knowledge development trajectory and research topics in the field of m-learning. This paper reviews 1396 articles associated with m-learning since 1992 to explore the knowledge trajectories. The global main path and the key-route main path reveal that higher education has become the leading research field of m-learning. The majority of researches focus on personalized guidance and acceptance and adoption of m-learning. Multiple main paths obtain three subareas, including design and development of m-learning, factors affecting the acceptance and adoption of m-learning, and comprehensive application of m-learning. This paper contributes to the m-learning domain by providing research directions and making implications for future researchers.