Institutional Research Productivity in Science Education for the 1990s: Top 30 Rankings

The purpose of this study was to identify the major science education programs in the United States, where the science education researchers published their research. This research is the first study of the scholarly productivity of science education programs at domestic institutions of higher education. Each issue of the eight research journals (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, International Journal of Science Education, Journal of Science Teacher Education, School Science and Mathematics, Journal of Computers in Math and Science Teaching, Journal of Science Education and Technology, and Journal of Elementary Science Education) published in the 1990s provided the author(s) and their institutional affiliation. The resultant ranking of raw and weighted counts for the top 30 science educations programs shows variation in journals where research was published. Overall, regardless whether the total number of publications (raw) or weighted rating there was 90% agreement among top 10 and 70% agreement among the bottom 10. Potential explanations for variations and uses for rankings are discussed.     

Trends of Science Education Research: An Automatic Content Analysis

This study used scientometric methods to conduct an automatic content analysis on the development trends of science education research from the published articles in the four journals of International Journal of Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Research in Science Education, and Science Education from 1990 to 2007. The multi-stage clustering technique was employed to investigate with what topics, to what development trends, and from whose contribution that the journal publications constructed as a science education research field. This study found that the research topic of Conceptual Change & Concept Mapping was the most studied topic, although the number of publications has slightly declined in the 2000’s. The studies in the themes of Professional Development, Nature of Science and Socio-Scientific Issues, and Conceptual Chang and Analogy were found to be gaining attention over the years. This study also found that, embedded in the most cited references, the supporting disciplines and theories of science education research are constructivist learning, cognitive psychology, pedagogy, and philosophy of science.     

An analysis of research studies in which “homemade” achievement instruments were utilized

This article will have as its focus a problem described by Anderson, namely, the quality of the construction and reporting of research that contains “homemade” achievement tests. The current status of homemade achievement tests was examined in this study. Research reports in two science education journals were analyzed, using Anderson's eight categories of information that a high quality research report should include. The journals examined were Journal of Research in Science Teaching and Science Education from January 1975 to January 1980. The findings indicate that reliability estimates and the procedures for selecting test items were mentioned more frequently in the science education journals than in Anderson's study. However, there was little or no improvement in describing the relation of test items to instruction. These findings should be of interest both to researchers who are utilizing “homemade” achievement tests in their studies and to journal panels who are reviewing studies for publication.     

Science education journal/periodical reading patterns of senior level undergraduate education students at the university of Oklahoma, 1973-1982

This study analyzed 103 articles from journals/periodicals related to science education submitted to the author over a period often years. This study sought to determine which journals/ periodicals were most popular, as indicated by frequency of reportings. It, secondarily, attempted to verify or refute the paucity of research data currently available related to journal/ periodical reading patterns on the part of teachers, specifically those in secondary schools. Finally, it attempted to study reading patterns within specific secondary school teaching areas, about which this author was unable to find any research. The findings indicated that there were several popular science education-related journals/periodicals. American Biology Teacher, the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and Science Education were the top three journals/ periodicals reported. Most of the findings of earlier research were confirmed.     

Research trends in science education from 2013 to 2017: a systematic content analysis of publications in selected journals

Following a series of reviews every 5 years since 1998, this fourth study presents the research trends in science education based on 1,088 research articles published in Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and International Journal of Science Education from 2013 to 2017. The top three research topics, that is, the context of students’ learning, science teaching, and students’ conceptual learning were still emphasized by researchers in the period of 2013–2017. It is also evident that researchers have undoubtedly changed their preferences of research topics in the three journals within the 2 decades. For example, the topic concerning conceptual understanding, alternative conceptions, and conceptual change (Learning-Conceptions) was in continuous decline from 2003 to 2017, although it ranked as the top topic in the 1998–2002 period. The research topic of Teaching continuously ranked second in the 2008–2012 as well as in the 2013–2017 periods. Yet, the declining trend of Goals, Policy, and Curriculum reported in the last review was not observed in the latest period. The analysis of the top 10 most-cited papers unveiled that the issues such as inequality in science education, STEM education, and undergraduate research experiences were gradually highlighted.     

Research Trends in Science Education from 2008 to 2012: A systematic content analysis of publications in selected journals

This paper presents the third study of research trends in science education. In this review, a total of 990 papers published in the International Journal of Science Education, the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Science Education from 2008 to 2012 were analyzed. The results indicate that in the recent five years (2008–2012), the top three research topics in the published papers were those regarding the context of students' learning, science teaching, and students' conceptual learning. The changes in the most popular research topics in the past 15 years also evidentially indicate shifts in the journals' preferences and researchers' interest. For example, in 2003–2007, context of students' learning replaced students' conceptual learning, which was the most published research topic from 1998 to 2002. The research topic of students' learning contexts continued to rank the first in 2008–2012. Moreover, there was an increasing trend of research papers regarding science teaching from 1998 to 2012. The analysis of highly cited papers revealed that research topics such as argumentation, inquiry-based learning, and scientific modeling were recently highlighted by science educators. In recent 15 years, productive researchers' publications also focused on the topics about context of students' learning, science teaching, and students' conceptual learning.     

Research Trends in Science Education from 2003 to 2007: A content analysis of publications in selected journals

The present study was a follow‐up to Tsai and Wen’s (2005) earlier research, in which 802 articles published in the International Journal of Science Education, Science Education, and the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1998 to 2002 were analysed in terms of author’s nationality, research type, and research topic. In the present study a total of 869 papers published in the three journals from 2003 to 2007 were analysed, and the results were compared with those of Tsai and Wen. Moreover, this study also identified 31 highly‐cited papers published during 1998–2002 and 20 highly‐cited papers published during 2003–2007. The results showed that authors from countries other than the four major English‐speaking countries (i.e., the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada) published an increasing number of articles in the past decade. During these five years (2003–2007), science educators showed relatively more interest in research topics involving the context of student learning. Besides, science educators have changed some of their research interests during 1998–2007, with a shift in the research topics from student conception learning and conceptual change (1998–2002) to student learning contexts (2003–2007). Moreover, the investigation of highly‐cited papers in the past decade revealed that studies on argumentation have gained significant attention among science educators.     

Research on Children’s Play: Analysis of Developmental and Early Education Journals from 2005 to 2007

Our review examined four early childhood journals (Early Child Development and Care, Early Childhood Education Journal, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly) and four developmental science journals (Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, and Merrill Palmer Quarterly) from 2005 to 2007. Only 57 articles out of over 1,000 (conservative estimate) included the term ‘play’ in the title, abstract or as a key word. Of these 57 articles, only 19 were primarily focused on play, 16 from ECE journals and only three from developmental science journals (Z = 2.43, p < .05). While the ECE journals drew implications for practice, the developmental science journals did not. Seven ECE journal articles dealt with the concept of play in education and four other ECE journal articles covered play and literacy. The findings suggest the need for more careful use of the term play in early education and child development studies and a reevaluation of rationales and methods for its study.     

Qualitative Research in Distance Education: An Analysis of Journal Literature 2005–2012

This review study examines the current research literature in distance education for the years 2005 to 2012. The author found 382 research articles published during that time in four prominent peer-reviewed research journals. The articles were classified and coded as quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. Further analysis found another category of articles in which qualitative data were obtained but results were reported as quantitative. The analysis shows that the publication of purely qualitative research occurs least often in The American Journal of Distance Education than in the other journals. The analysis also shows that, on average, prominent journals are publishing less qualitative research now than they were 2005. This study shows the need for further research and analysis of the methodologies currently utilized in distance education.     

The Evolution of Leadership Research in Higher Education for Two Decades (1995-2014): A Bibliometric and Content Analysis

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to examine the leadership research in higher education in order to shed light on its development during the last two decades by revealing the evolving trends in research on leadership in higher education, the most prominent scholars working on related research, the most popular topics in related research, and the countries in which the related studies are based. Bibliometric method was employed in the analysis of the original research and review papers published in five prominent higher education journals between 1995 and 2014: Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education and The Review of Higher Education. The results of this bibliometric analysis show that the majority of the related articles come from three countries: the U.S.A., the UK and Australia. It is also found that the leadership research in higher education is still very scarce and has not shown any meaningful increase during the last two decades. In addition, content analysis is used to provide more in-depth information about the topical focus, purpose and methodology of the selected articles. The results of content analyses are discussed in detail, and suggestions for the future research are provided.     

Scientific terminology and context: How broad or narrow are our meanings?

The valuable insights of Slisko and Dykstra (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34, 655–660, 1997) enhance discussions concerning the use of scientific terminology in classrooms and conceptions studies. Their insights encouraged self-reflection on prior definitions in this journal (Pushkin, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 223–224, 1996). Definitions intended to address specific terms with more clarity and precision, in retrospect, illustrate the potential difficulties specific terms create for educators and learner alike. Refined definitions will reflect a broader context. The term pseudoconception (Pushkin, 1996) is addressed in more detail. Conceptions studies may focus on learners' incorrect understandings; pseudoconceptions focus on correct understandings. Pseudoconceptions reflect the context of understanding; sensitivity is needed to the broadness or narrowness of that context. We sometimes perceive that education theory, physics, and chemistry are incompatible. All equally unique and important, none is completely independent from the others. Providing meaningful learning opportunities, science educators should see relevance in each; definitions of scientific terminology can reflect this. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 661–668, 1997.     

Engineering education research in European Journal of Engineering Education and Journal of Engineering Education: citation and reference discipline analysis

The authors, citations and content of European Journal of Engineering Education (EJEE) and Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) in 1973 (JEE, 1975 EJEE), 1983, 1993, 2003, and available 2013 issues were analysed. Both journals transitioned from house organs to become engineering education research (EER) journals, although JEE transitioned first. In this process the number of citations rose, particularly of education and psychology sources; the percentage of research articles increased markedly as did the number of reference disciplines. The number of papers per issue, the number of single author papers, and the citations of science and engineering sources decreased. EJEE has a very broad geographic spread of authors while JEE authors are mainly US based. A ‘silo’ mentality where general engineering education researchers do not communicate with EER researchers in different engineering disciplines is evident. There is some danger that EER may develop into a silo that does not communicate with technically oriented engineering professors.     

The New Journal of Jewish Education at Ten: An Appraisal

This article documents the Journal of Jewish Education’s acquisition by the Network for Research in Jewish Education, in 2004, and evaluates the contribution of the re-launched Journal to the field of Jewish education. I explore how the Journal contributed over the past decade in three discrete yet often overlapping areas, thereby realizing its editors’ vision. First, the Journal of Jewish Education became the venue for conversations between researchers, practitioners and funders about the direction of Jewish education research and policy; second, it became an outlet for the sharing of research and other Jewish education scholarship; and third, it became a venue where scholars introduced research and theoretical constructs from the field of general education and sought to demonstrate their relevance to Jewish education. Finally, I suggest some reasons why the editors had less success in realizing a fourth goal for the Journal; that is, making it a forum for new ideas and the charting of new directions in research and practice.     

Research on mathematics education in China in the last decade: A review of journal articles

This article reviews literatures on mathematics education in China in the last decade. It focuses on papers that were published after 2000, and Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI). Some influential journals in the field of mathematics education, such as the Journal of Mathematics Education and the Mathematics Instruction were also reviewed. The author shares in this article with international scholars the most recent research in the field of Chinese mathematics education. Mathematics education in China mainly focuses on the essence of mathematics classroom instruction, student learning of mathematics, mathematics teacher education, and its curriculum reforms.     

Higher Education Literature Revisited: Citation Patterns Examined

The discourse of the field of higher education is complex, as is its analysis. Citation analysis is means of examining communicative processes. This study investigates citations in the papers of three core journals in higher education, Research in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and Journal of Higher Education. The results demonstrate that citation practices have remained relatively stable over time with regard to the format of cited items and the people and sources cited. The consistency applies, even with the electronic availability of a greater amount, and greater diversity, of materials. Some differences from past practices are also presented.     

行动研究应用中的常见误区——基于过去6年教育类核心期刊论文的评述

行动研究是一种社会科学研究方法,主张将“行动”与“研究”合二为一,鼓励研究者在实际工作情境中对实践活动所遭遇的实际问题进行研究,强调在行动中研究,在研究中行动,深受一线教育工作者的喜爱。但是,通过对最近6年有关行动研究文献的分析,发现研究者在应用行动研究方法时,主要存在6种误区：有行动无问题定义、有问题无原因分析、有计划无方案论证、有方案无动态变通、有观察无评价反思、有反思无阶段循环。这些误区主要是因为研究者没有厘清“行动”与“研究”的学术内涵。行动研究中的“研究”当指科学的学术逻辑,而非工作逻辑和生活逻辑;行动研究中的“行动”当指有意图、有准备的行动。行动研究重视系统化的方法探究,既是行动,更是研究。教育研究者在应用行动研究方法时应遵循研究的共同规范,提高学术研究的质量。     

The Intellectual Structure of Research on Educational Technology in Science Education (ETiSE): A Co-citation Network Analysis of Publications in Selected Journals (2008–2013)

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the intellectual structure of the research on educational technology in science education (ETiSE) within the most recent years (2008–2013). Based on the criteria for educational technology research and the citation threshold for educational co-citation analysis, a total of 137 relevant ETiSE papers were identified from the International Journal of Science Education, the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, and the Journal of Science Education and Technology. Then, a series of methodologies were performed to analyze all 137 source documents, including document co-citation analysis, social network analysis, and exploratory factor analysis. As a result, 454 co-citation ties were obtained and then graphically visualized with an undirected network, presenting a global structure of the current ETiSE research network. In addition, four major underlying intellectual subfields within the main component of the ETiSE network were extracted and named as: (1) technology-enhanced science inquiry, (2) simulation and visualization for understanding, (3) technology-enhanced chemistry learning, and (4) game-based science learning. The most influential co-citation pairs and cross-boundary phenomena were then analyzed and visualized in a co-citation network. This is the very first attempt to illuminate the core ideas underlying ETiSE research by integrating the co-citation method, factor analysis, and the networking visualization technique. The findings of this study provide a platform for scholarly discussion of the dissemination and research trends within the current ETiSE literature.     

Students’ conceptions and the learning of science

This introductory article to the Special Issue of the International Journal of Science Education attempts to review the theoretical contexts for research into children's conceptions in science and to identify future directions for research programmes in this field.     

USING AN ENHANCED CONFLICT MAP IN THE CLASSROOM (PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT) BASED ON LAKATOSIAN HEURISTIC PRINCIPLE STRATEGIES

Researchers have shown that most students resist changes to their core beliefs by offering auxiliary hypotheses at the first sign of the development of conceptual change. Studies have viewed student reaction to discrepant events as an important clue in helping researchers understand not only the structure of alternative concepts (Niaz, Science & Education, 7(2):107 – 127, 1998) but also the nature of scientific concepts. The main objectives of this research were the following: (a) to consider prudently the conflict map of Tsai (International Journal of Science Education, 22(3):285 – 302, 2000); (b) to initiate and develop an enhanced conflict map based on Lakatosian ethodology, which could help science teachers and students resolve conflicts that occur in the explanation of natural phenomena; (c) to examine the effectiveness of the enhanced conflict map; and (d) to discuss these implications in science education. Specifically, this study used two freshman classes from the Department of Electronics and one class of Astronomy majors from C. National University, South Korea, to investigate how scientific concepts change after selecting the modern physics field (Photoelectric effect), which is included in the Physics and Astronomy courses. Modern physics has led to the so-called Lakatosian heuristic principle or methodology, a useful framework that includes scientific philosophy and science history as study strategies. “Enhanced conflict maps” are suggested for use to consistently show all the study processes.