Mapping the Research Landscape of Transparent AI in University Assessment: A Bibliometric Investigation

Authors

  • Flavio Manganello Institute for Educational Technology, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy
  • Alberto Nico Department of Law, University “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy
  • Giannangelo Boccuzzi Institute for Educational Technology, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7428-3865

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/icair.5.1.4117

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence Transparency, Higher education assessment, Bibliometric analysis, Explainable AI, Educational technology, Regulatory compliance

Abstract

This study presents a systematic bibliometric investigation of AI transparency research in university assessment contexts. Following GLOBAL recommendations (Ng et al., 2024), we examined 72 peer-reviewed publications from Scopus (2019-2025) using performance metrics and science mapping techniques. Findings reveal exponential growth from single publications in 2019 to 26 documents in 2024 (R² = 0.7666, p = 0.0098). The domain generated 655 citations achieving h-index of 13. China leads in output (8 documents) while Sweden demonstrates highest citation efficiency (25.50 citations per document). Science mapping identifies four primary clusters: technical transparency methodologies, educational analytics frameworks, machine learning applications, and performance prediction systems. Co-citation analysis establishes Adadi and Berrada’s XAI survey (2018) as the foundational framework (11 citations, 24 total link strength). Temporal evolution shows progression from basic concepts toward practical implementations, reflecting regulatory compliance following GDPR and EU AI Act. International collaboration reveals South-South partnerships and high-impact contributions from countries with strong data protection frameworks. These patterns provide evidence for an emerging interdisciplinary domain addressing AI accountability in higher education, offering insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

Author Biographies

Flavio Manganello, Institute for Educational Technology, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy

Flavio Manganello is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Educational Technology (ITD), National Research Council (CNR), Italy. He holds a PhD in Engineering Science specializing in e-learning and focuses on technology-enhanced learning, personalized learning, self-regulated learning, and game-based learning. He has authored over 50 scientific publications and leads several international research projects.

Alberto Nico, Department of Law, University “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy

Alberto Nico is a final-year PhD student at UNIBA researching "Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property". He's a corporate lawyer specializing in tax law, subsidized finance, innovation law, privacy, and international law, with expertise in new technologies and multidisciplinary approaches.RiprovaClaude può commettere errori. Verifica sempre le risposte con attenzione.

Giannangelo Boccuzzi, Institute for Educational Technology, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy

Giannangelo Boccuzzi is doctoral researcher at University of Bologna in the Ethics and Law of Artificial Intelligence, associate researcher at the Institute for Educational Technologies (ITD) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). Member of Italian Society of AI Ethics and board member of Hypex, TOP 3 Fortune Italy Awards Culture Tech Startup 2023 and top 16 Italian startups at Tokyo Innovation Day 2020. Subject matter expert at LUISS University in Euro Project Management, EdTech expert in over 30 projects funded by European Space Agency [ESA], European Commission, Italian Ministries of Culture [MIC] and Economic Development [MISE - MIMIT].

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Published

2025-12-04

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on AI Research (ICAIR 2025)

Section

Academic