Bibliometric analysis of inquiry-based learning in chemistry education

This study aims to reveal the structure and evolution of the research area by using the bibliometric analysis method related to the inquiry-based learning method in chemistry education. For this purpose, 875 articles related to inquiry-based learning in chemistry education in the Web of Science database until November 15, 2022, were analyzed using performance analysis and science mapping. As a result of descriptive analysis; it was determined that the most productive author was Ellen J Yezierski. According to science mapping findings, the most influential document was Abd-El-Khalick et al. (2004), the most effective source was the 'Journal of Chemical Education', and the most influential country was the USA. The three most influential authors appeared to be Joseph S. Krajcik, Ronald W. Marx, and Fouad Abd-El-Khalick. The most co-cited authors were; National Research Council (NRC), Avi Hofstein, and Barbara A. Crawford. However, the most co-cited references were NRC (1996), Hofstein and Lunetta (2004), and NRC (2000). When the relationship between the countries was examined, it was determined that the country playing the central role was the USA. When the cooperation between the countries was examined; it was seen that the cooperation of the USA, England, Turkey, Australia, Finland, Taiwan, and Germany has come to the fore. In addition, it was determined that the most used keyword was 'inquiry-based/ discovery learning. With this study, it is expected to contribute to the literature and also to guide researchers who will work in this field.