Analysis of graduate theses on gender and university students

Purpose: In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the postgraduate theses on "gender and university students" in higher education in Turkey so far by using the document review method. Method: A qualitative research method was used in this study using the descriptive analysis technique. Theses related to the subject used in this research were accessed from Higher Education Institution (HEI) database. The data obtained were analyzed according to the academic publication review form. Results: It was seen that the total number of postgraduate theses on gender perception and university students until today is 70, 63 of them are master's and 7 of them are doctoral, and it was determined that the first thesis on this subject was published in 2007 and the highest number was in 2022. Looking at the distribution of theses according to the type of university, it was determined that state universities were more. It was determined that quantitative method was preferred in most of the theses and qualitative method and mixed method were used in very few theses. It was determined that quantitative data collection tools were used more in data collection tools due to the use of quantitative method more. When the scale scores in the theses were examined, it was found that the students' gender perceptions were positive and that there was a significant difference between gender and the scale among the various variables used in the theses, and that statistically significant results were not statistically significant enough to generalize for other variables. Conclusion and Suggestions: It was determined that similar problems about gender perception are examined more frequently and at the same time, variables used in research are homogenous in nature and examined with a small number of samples. In this context, it is suggested to examine different aspects of the same problem by increasing the number of samples and with more heterogeneous groups. Keywords: Higher Education, Postgraduate theses, Gender, University students, Qualitative research