Research on ChatGPT in higher education: shifting from exploration to policy development

The Covid-19 outbreak has brought the digital transformation of the higher education sector to a new level. Technologies like ChatGPT have significantly impacted learning and teaching, raising concerns about academic integrity and the effects on students’ critical thinking ability. Research on ChatGPT in higher education has garnered substantial attention from academics and practitioners, with various facets explored in the literature. However, given its recent emergence, systematic reviews and holistic views of the research landscape in this field remain scarce. Using a bibliometric analysis approach, our research retrieved and analysed 461 publications using VOSviewer and Dimensions. Through citation and keyword co-occurrence network mapping, four research trends with accompanying sub-themes emerged in the academic literature: ChatGPT as an educational application, its integration into the higher education system, learners’ perspectives on ChatGPT, and its Challenges of implementation. Additionally, our study revealed an evolutionary shift in research attention within the domain, from earlier studies focusing on the use of ChatGPT in higher education (HE) to recent concerns about HE policies and regulations. Our study’s results offer insights into the research landscape of ChatGPT in HE and help inform future research directions.