The Scientific Map of Geographic Inquiry: A Bibliometric Approach to the Educational Literature
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/ankad.v10i2.337Keywords:
Education, geographic inquiry, Bibliometrics, R-StudioAbstract
This study was conducted using a bibliometric analysis method to examine trends in educational research within the field of geographic inquiry and to delineate its current state. The research was carried out using data obtained through systematic searches based on the phrase “geographic inquiry” in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, covering the years 1990–2024. During the data collection process, search queries, filtering criteria, and output formats were meticulously defined; the obtained data were integrated using Excel and the Biblioshiny package in R to generate 33 unique records for the final analysis. In the analysis phase, publication and citation trends by year, leading authors and countries, most cited articles, journals, and keyword trends, as well as the structural relationships between concepts, were examined in detail. The findings reveal that geographic inquiry research has gained momentum since the mid-2000s, and particularly with the increase in publications after 2018, the field has diversified within the contexts of educational technologies, GIS applications, and inquiry-based learning. It is observed that the most cited studies are grounded in practice-based, interdisciplinary, and digitally focused methods. Furthermore, it has been determined that geographic inquiry is closely associated with curricula, teacher education, and the development of students' 21st-century skills. The study highlights the importance of integrating AI-supported learning environments and technological applications into geographic inquiry processes. By revealing trends, gaps, and potential areas for development in the literature, this study offers significant academic and practical implications. Accordingly, for future research, it is recommended to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations between educational sciences and engineering fields, and to increase applied and experimental studies examining the effects of innovative pedagogical approaches on students' inquiry skills and spatial perceptions. Additionally, it is anticipated that diversifying research to encompass different educational levels—such as middle school, high school, and higher education—will both strengthen the theoretical infrastructure and yield more comprehensive data regarding the skill development process.
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