Augmented reality in science education: A content analysis study

In this study, a content analysis of 80 studies on augmented reality applications in science education was conducted. These studies include master's and doctoral theses published between 2013-2024. These theses were found through YÖKTEZ. The years, academic text types, research methods, sampling levels, regions of application, application periods, research designs, programs used, science research topics, objectives, data analysis methods, data collection tools, results and recommendations of the studies were examined. Frequencies and percentages of the data obtained were calculated and presented in tables. According to the data, the year in which the most studies were conducted is 2019. In terms of academic text type, it was concluded that 63 master's and 17 doctoral thesis studies were conducted. Among the research methods, it was seen that the mixed research method was used the most. It was determined that the sample level was mostly composed of secondary school students and the region where the most studies were conducted was the Central Anatolia Region. It was seen that the implementation periods of the studies were carried out within 5-8 weeks at most. It was determined that ready-made AR applications were more preferred among the programs used in the studies. It was seen that the experimental design was mostly used as the research design and the "Solar System and Eclipses" topic was the most common among the science research topics. It is also one of the results obtained that t-test was mostly used as a data analysis method. It was also determined that the most used data collection tool was the test. When the studies were analyzed according to their purposes, it was concluded that the effect of AR-SG practices on academic achievement was examined more. It was determined that the most common conclusion from the studies was that the use of AR-SG increased academic achievement. Finally, the most common suggestion made in the studies was to conduct studies on AR-SG in different disciplines.