A content analysis related to theses about inquiry based teaching in science education between 2008 - 2022

In this study, 32 MA and 16 PhD theses written on inquiry-based learning approach in science teaching between the years 2008-2022 in the database of the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education (http://tez2.yok.gov.tr/) were examined by using the document analysis. Additionally, it is aimed to determine the deficiencies and tendencies in the field and to determine the general framework for inquiry-based learning in science teaching. The research was conducted with the document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods. The 48 postgraduate theses that constitute the sample of this study were examined by using the "Science Education Thesis Classification Form" developed by the researcher, taking into account the themes and categories created in the previous content analysis studies on science education. The keywords "inquiry-based" and "inquiry-based learning" were used in order to reach the studies on the HEI Database. All theses were examined with their types, years of publishing, cities of publishing, titles of the supervisors, research methods, research models, samplings, sample sizes, sample levels, data collection tools, questionnaire types, achievement test types, interview types, data analysis methods, and data analysis types. The data were obtained using the MS-Excel program. Regarding those criteria, all of the postgraduate studies were evaluated separately as master's and doctoral theses, and the frequency and percentage values were presented through tables and graphs. Considering the findings obtained as a result of the research, it was observed that the majority of the theses on the inquiry-based learning approach were master's theses, while PhD theses were less in number; researchers mostly preferred the quantitative research model; and most of the studies were conducted in 2019. The postgraduate studies were widely distributed in universities located in Ankara. In the majority of the examined studies, it was found that undergraduate students were preferred as the sample, the number of studies conducted at the primary education level was less, and the maximum distribution was in the range of 51-100 in the sample size. The results were followed by the suggestions for future studies on inquiry-based learning approach.