The process of e-learning studies in Iran, adopting a meta-analytic approach

The present study was aimed at the investigation of the process of e-learning studies in Iran، adopting a meta-analytic approach. The recent decade observed a significant growth in studies on e-learning. In addition to the studies applied to national and international conferences held in Iran، numerous papers on this discipline are being annually published in credible journals. Now، the question to be answered is what is the process of these studies undergo in terms of subject، method، the year published، scientific area، and the studied university? Do these features alter depending on the researcher’s field of study (humanities، engineering، and medical sciences)? Considering the objective، meta-analysis was adopted for this study. The population included all the papers published in journals or indexed on the websites ‘magiran’، ‘sid’، and ‘noormags’ (237 items). Papers presented at conferences were not investigated in this study. The papers were categorized and coded by title، method، statistical population، sampling method، the researcher’s university، the researcher’s field of study، publication، and the year published. The codes were then entered into SPSS to be analyzed in terms of the research questions. Consequently، with regard to the findings، some suggestions were proposed.