  The area of Learning Analytics has developed enormously since the first
International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) in 2011. It
is a field that combines different disciplines such as computer science,
statistics, psychology and pedagogy to achieve its intended objectives. The
main goals illustrate in creating convenient interventions on learning as well
as its environment and the final optimization about learning domain
stakeholders. Because the field matures and is now adapted in diverse
educational settings, we believe there is a pressing need to list its own
research methods and specify its objectives and dilemmas. This paper surveys
publications from Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference from 2013 to 2015
and lists the significant research areas in this sphere. We consider the method
profile and classify them into seven different categories with a brief
description on each. Furthermore, we show the most cited method categories
using Google scholar. Finally, the authors raise the challenges and constraints
that affect its ethical approach through the meta-analysis study. It is
believed that this paper will help researchers to identify the common methods
used in Learning Analytics, and it will assist by establishing a future
forecast towards new research work taking into account the privacy and ethical
issues of this strongly emerged field.
