Bibliometric analysis of scientific research on misconception conducted in the field of education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to perform a bibliometric analysis of articles on misconception in the education research category of the Web of Science (WoS) database. Bibliometric analyses are carried out to identify conceptual developments in a subject area, trends of researchers over time, themes researched, changes in the boundaries of disciplines, and the most productive academics, institutions, or countries and to present the “big picture”. This study used the descriptive survey model. In line with the purpose of the study, the keywords “misconception” and “misconceptions” were searched in “topic” in the WoS database using the “OR” option. As a result of the survey carried out on 12.01.2023, 3,545 articles were accessed. The obtained data were analyzed using the “bibliometrix” package in the RStudio programming language, included in the open-source R program. Journal of Chemical Education (f=310) was found to be the journal publishing the most articles on misconception in the WoS database, and the academics with the most studies were determined to be Bretz S. L., Treagust D. F., and Geban, O. The authors whose studies on misconception have the highest h-index values are Bretz S. L., Treagust D. F., and Sanger M. J. The first three countries producing the most articles on misconception are the USA, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the researchers who have the most international collaborations with researchers from different countries are also from the USA (83 articles). The most used keywords are “misconception/misconceptions”, “conceptual change”, and “science education”. This study is anticipated to present a comprehensive and detailed projection for academics who plan to conduct research in the subject area of misconception. In addition to different studies may be designed focusing on other dimensions of concept teaching.