Trends Of Academic Studies on Online Discussion Forums: A Systematic Review

Proceedings of The 4th International Conference on Applied Research in Education

Year: 2022

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/4th.areconf.2022.05.05

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Trends Of Academic Studies on Online Discussion Forums: A Systematic Review

Hakan Kilinc

ABSTRACT: 

Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to examine the scientific studies that deal with the issue of online discussion forums at the international level. For this purpose, in this study, the systematic review technique was used. Scopus database was used as data collection tool. One of the criteria determined when using the Scopus database was that the word “online discussion forums” was mentioned in the title part of the study. Within the scope of the study, the range of 2011- 2022 was chosen as the publication year. With this query, 366 papers were reached. The data obtained within the scope of the research were interpreted based on percentage and frequency and the data were displayed with tables and graphics. The findings obtained within the scope of the study show that a limited number of studies have been carried out on online discussion forums. Based on this finding, it can be stated that online discussion forums that enable learners to be involved in communication and interaction processes in e-learning environments should be studied more. However, it has been seen that the countries with the most studies on online group discussions are United States, United Kingdom and Australia, respectively. The university with the most research on online discussion forums is Arizona State University. Of the 366 scientific studies that were accessed within the scope of the study, 61% (224) were in the form of articles. Finally, it has been observed that most of the studies on online discussion forums come from the field of social sciences. This is followed by computer science and medicine, respectively.

keywords: distance education; e-learning; interaction; international academic studies; scopus data base.