Content analysis of studies on virtual reality applications in the field of science education

Rapid developments in the field of technology have directly affected the field of education and training, as in many other fields. The steps to be taken towards providing more qualified educational environments are very important. The possibilities offered by technology also provide great convenience for the creation of effective teaching environments. One of the most important technologies used in education is virtual reality technologies. Its use is becoming increasingly common, especially in the fields of science. This study is a content analysis study of scientific studies on virtual reality applications in the field of science education between 2005-2022. 120 articles, master's and doctoral theses on the subject were included in the research, and the data were coded and analyzed. After the determined articles and theses were classified according to categories, the frequencies and percentages of each sub-category were presented in the form of tables and graphs. As a result of the study, it was found that the most studies were done in the graduate type and in 2019, women did more work than men, studies in the field of physics were more than other science disciplines, 4-5-6-7-8. It is seen that the quantitative method is the most preferred method, case study and experimental designs are the most preferred design, achievement tests and interview forms are the most used data collection tools, t-tests and content analysis. It has been seen in the findings that it is the most used data analysis techniques. It is thought that the findings obtained from this study will serve as a guide for other studies to be carried out. Keywords:Science Education, Virtual Reality, Content Analysis