A focus on methodology in learning analytics: Building a structurally sound bridge discipline

The following paper gives an overview of the inaugural Methodologies in Learning Analytics Workshop at the International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. The event discussed many topics but two key themes emerged, that of middle space, the space between learning and analytics in which methodologies reside and the importance of multivocality, the challenge of finding shared analytic objectives and learning to not talk past one another. The following summarizes these themes and their importance for generating robust methodological arguments within Learning Analytics.