Analysis of graduate theses on cyber security knowledge and perception in turkiye

Cybersecurity has become a multidimensional discipline of vital importance both individually and nationally. This situation has revealed the necessity of investigating individuals' knowledge level and perception regarding cybersecurity. The aim of this study is to systematically analyze master's and doctoral theses conducted in Turkey that perform individual-based measurements on cybersecurity knowledge and perception. In today's world, where digitalization is accelerating, cyber threats faced by individuals, institutions, and states have diversified; cybersecurity has moved beyond being merely a technical issue and has transformed into an area of societal awareness and behavior. This study aims to evaluate theses based on individual information security awareness, digital literacy, and mindful awareness with methodological and thematic integrity. The research was carried out using the document analysis method, a qualitative approach. A total of 40 master's and doctoral theses that are accessible in the National Thesis Center database of the Council of Higher Education and meet the specified criteria were included in the analysis. The bibliometric features (year, type of university, institute, advisor title, etc.) and content-related aspects (research method, design, data collection tool, sample type, keywords, and thematic structure) of the theses were systematically analyzed. The findings show that individual-focused cybersecurity research in Turkey has been on the rise in recent years. It was determined that most of the theses were conducted at public universities in the fields of Educational Sciences and Engineering; that quantitative research methods, survey techniques, and Likert-type scales were predominantly used. Among the participant profiles, employees, university students, and individual users stand out, while the relationships between demographic variables and cybersecurity awareness were examined in detail in the studies. This study offers an original contribution by comprehensively addressing theses that focus on human behavior, going beyond the general trends in the current cybersecurity literature. In addition, the thematic classifications and methodological analyses presented by the research serve as a guiding resource for future studies in the field of cybersecurity awareness.