A bibliometric overview of science communication research in STEM education

Abstract

Science communication has recently gained importance in many countries worldwide. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the scientific output of science communication in STEM education in the SCOPUS database for 2000-2022. For this purpose, the published studies on science communication were analyzed bibliometrically, and the trend of the last 22 years was shown. The database SCOPUS was used for data collection. The studies were analyzed under the following subheadings: Number of publications per year, type of publications, the language of publications, citation analysis, country collaborations, common citation networks, and conceptual trends. The results showed that the number of articles increased between 2019 and 2022. The United States and the United Kingdom had the most publications. The results also showed that the countries with the most collaboration in co-authored studies were Germany, the United States, Finland, Australia, and the Netherlands. Most published authors were mainly from the United States and Australia. The results of peer-reviewed journals demonstrated that the highest bibliographic link strengths included the International Journal of Science Education-Part B, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, and Journal of Science Communication. In addition, the most frequently used keywords were science communication, science education, education, human, communication, public understanding of science, and stem. Educational implications are drawn in the conclusion.