Homophily studies in higher education: Bibliometric and methodological analysis of the literature
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2025
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Abstract
Homophily the tendency of individuals to form relationships with others who are similar to themselves has crucial implications for social networks and interactions in higher education settings. The networks formed under the university's educational framework the transfer of behavior and information and the examination of the social context in which the learning experience occurs have paved the way for research on homophily in higher education. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of research on homophily in higher education published in journals indexed in Web of Science Citation Databases (Science Citation Index Expanded Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index) between 1991 and 2024. By searching for publications containing keywords related to homophily higher education and learning 46 articles were identified and analyzed using bibliometric tools and techniques. Key research areas/clusters interdisciplinary distribution patterns of productivity and collaboration across countries keyword co-occurrence networks and citation networks were examined to reveal trends influential studies and the conceptual and intellectual structure of this research area. Using RStudio Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to identify key trends research areas and conceptual structures in the field this study reveals that education psychology and social sciences contribute a high proportion of research. When the annual scientific production graph of the studies in this field was analyzed the findings showed an increasing trend. According to the research results the highest productivity and citations came from countries such as the United States the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and it was revealed that international collaborations between these countries were strong. Keyword analysis revealed that terms such as 'social network ' 'academic performance' and 'homophily' were frequently used. The results highlight the development of homophily studies in the higher education context and provide the conceptual and methodological foundation for further research on social relations group dynamics and cultural diversity/dissent in universities.
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Sosyoloji, Eğitim, Eğitim Araştırmaları, Psikoloji
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