Field of Social Study Education Based on Web of Science Database

Accepted: 03.05.2020 The aim of this study is to examine scientific articles related to Social Studies education in terms of bibliometric tools. Case study method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The range of the relevant bibliometric data from the WoS database produced by Clarivate Analytics covers between 1975 and January 2020. In the study, bibliometric analysis technique was used. In the analyses made, it was revealed that 228 of the 64,338,472 studies registered in the WoS database were studies on Social Studies between the years 1975 and 2020. It was observed that 154 (67.54%) of these records were included in the education / training research category. In the analysis, it was seen that the most common type of publication related to Social Studies education was 154 studies and articles. However, it was determined that approximately 84 of the published articles have been published in the last five years. This rate shows that educational researches related to Social Studies education have increased in recent years. Again in the analyses, it was seen that there are 246 different authors contributing to the field. It was found that a total of 318 different keywords were used in 154 articles and the most effective journal was Theory and Research in Social Education magazine. In addition, it was figured out that researchers from 18 different countries published articles that contributed to the field. In this context, the most active countries are the United States, Turkey and Canada respectively. Turkey's ranking second amongst 24 articles from 18 different countries shows that it is influential in the field.


Introduction
One of the ways of producing scientific information and distributing it to those concerned is writing scientific articles. The way the topics are handled and their content, and the responsibility of always guiding the researchers, are a part of the work of producing the article. To that end, the orientations of the study topics in the articles are important. Studies that study this aspect of research produced are bibliometric studies. These studies are especially the guide of scientists who will conduct academic studies. Bibliometric studies are the studies that reveal the desired details of the studied area. Particularly in the field of educational sciences, there is a growing bulk of study in recent years. In fact, bibliometric studies guide scientists who will conduct new research in the field of educational sciences

Research Design
This study was designed in descriptive scanning model. The main purpose in descriptive design is to describe and explain the situation in detail (Walcott, 1994). With such research, "What is the situation? Where are we? What do we want to do? Where, in which direction should we go? How do we get there?" sort of questions are posed based on the data considered to be within the current time section (Kaptan, 1995: 59). The study was structured in descriptive scanning model since it was aimed to examine the effectiveness of the social studies education academic field in WoS in terms of bibliometric indicators.

Collection of Data
WoS includes over 10,000 journals and consists of seven different citation databases containing different information collected from magazines, conferences, reports, books and book series (Aghaei Chadegani, et al., 2013). With this aspect, it offers researchers broad opportunities in terms of document type. Accordingly, by resorting to articles, books, theses, papers, reports, and others in WoS it is possible to examine document types in terms of bibliometric properties. An online scan of 1975-1 January 2020 was carried out in the WoS database. The keywords "Social Study Education" and "Social Study" were scanned, both in article titles and in article content. The scanned indices were determined as SCI-Expanded, SSCI, A & HCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, BKCI-S, BKCI-SSH and ESCI. During the screening process, 228 records emerged out of a total of 64.338.472 records. 154 of these records are within the scope of education / training research, and the study in question is limited to the article with the most record type. The findings are presented in the below tables.

Data Analysis
In the study, bibliometric analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. In order to reveal the effectiveness of social studies education academic field in WoS, WoS Categories of Publications Scanned with the Keyword of "Social Studies Education" in the database, using bibliometric analysis techniques according to the scale of such Articles published in the relevant Turkey and Social Studies Education Bibliometric analysis is the analysis of the properties and trends of recorded information, analysis of the structures of scientific and research fields which is used in the evaluation of research activities and in the management of scientific information . In the articles examined in the research, collaboration network analysis was made use of so as to be able to determine keyword analysis, source co-citation network analysis and author co-citation network analysis. VOSviewer (Version 1.6.9) (Van Eck & Waltman, 2010) package program was preferred as an analytical tool in collaboration network studies. The data obtained from WoS was converted into the appropriate text format for the VOSviewer package program. The data set was analyzed and visualized through the program in question.

Findings
The results determined in the online scans for the answers of the questions in the research are presented in tables. In this context, WoS categories of 228 studies were examined for the first research question and the first 10 categories are presented in Table 1. According to Table 1, it is understood that the highest number of records are in the "Education / Education Research" category with 154 studies, whilst there exist 4 studies in "Social Issues"; 2 in "Ethnic Studies" and "Social Sciences History", "Psychology" and other categories succeeding. These results lead to the finding that in the literature, the least number belongs to interdisciplinary application studies in Computer Sciences. Answers to the second research question and the sub-questions related to it are given in tables 2 3 4 and 5 sequentially. Publications in the Education / Training Research category were examined according to their types and presented in Table 2. Looking at Table 2, the most common type of publication is articles with the number154 followed by books with 28 studies, and there are 3 studies with open access and 2 studies with papers. With these results, it can be concluded that researchers publish articles the most. The keywords of the articles related to Social Studies Education in the Education / Training Research category were examined and the keyword network is presented in Graphic 1.

Graphic 1. Keywords and current subject analysis (N = 154)
In the examination, it was spotted that 318 different keywords were used in the articles. When Chart 1 is analyzed, it is detected that the mostly used keywords in the articles are social studies education, social studies, citizenship education and teacher education.
Apparently in the 2010s, keywords such as social studies education, history education, democracy education were used predominantly, while in recent years curriculum (curriculum), historical analysis (reading) have become more common. As a matter of fact there seems to be a trend towards keywords such as (reading), secondary education. This indicator can tell us that researchers have created a novel philosophy of social studies by using the words social studies education, social studies and citizenship. The distribution of articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category according to publication years was examined and presented in Table 3. Considering the articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category, it was diagnosed that the highest number of articles was published in 2016 (24 articles). It was discovered that years 2018 (19 articles), 2019 (18 articles), 2017 (13 articles) and 2015 (10 articles) come afterward respectively. It is also revealed that 54.52% (84 articles) of published articles have been published in the last five years. Undoubtedly, the fact that the number of studies of social studies education has increased in recent years is also reflected in the studies carried out. It is also disclosed that the increasing trend in studies in the last 5 years is mirrored in the findings. The citation status of articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Training Research category is examined and presented in Table 4. When Table 4 is studied, "Developing citizens: The impact of civic learning opportunities on students' commitment to civic, published in the journal" American Educational Research Journal "is the most cited study in the Education / Training Research category which belongs to Joseph E. Kahne and Susan E. Sporte. It appears that there is an article entitled "participation". A total of 185 citations were made to the article published in 2008, and the average annual citation is 14.23. This article was published by Chauncey Monte-Sano again in the same year and in the same magazine; J. B., Jr. in "Educational Researcher" journal with a total of 56 citations and 4.31 citation average. Published by Mayo; another study has 29 citations and 3.63 citation average. The fact that a study is the first in the field ensures that the interest in the work turns out to be high, which echoes it through citations. In this regard, it would be fair to say that it is important to conduct a study for the first time in the field. Thereupon, it is significant that the article "Developing citizens: The impact of civic learning opportunities on students' commitment to civic participation" received 185 citations. Within the scope of articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category, the number of researchers and publication numbers that contributed the most to the field were examined and shown in Table 5. In the analysis, it was specified that 246 different authors (single author / multi author) published articles that contributed to the field. Looking at Table 5, the authors who made contributions to the field the most were C.C. Martell (4 articles) and A.L.Halvorsen. It was found that C. Monte-Sano (3 articles each) the third most influential scholar. Many of the studies that contribute to the field consist of multiple authors. It has been observed that the number of single author studies is low. Answers to the third research question and the subquestions related to it are given in tables 6,7,8 and 9. The journals that are active within the scope of articles published for Social Studies Education in the Education / Training Research category are reviewed and journals that publish more than three articles are given in Table 6. According to the analysis, it was seen that articles were published in 94 different journals. In this context, when taking a closer look at Table 6 it is seen that the highest number of articles is published in the journal "Theory and Research in Social Education" (24 articles). This is followed by "Teaching and Learning Social Studies" (10 articles), "Educational Researcher" (6 articles) and "Journal of Curriculum Studies" (5 articles). The publication of the studies in 94 different journals shows that there are journal alternatives where the studies can be published. It also hints at the fact that the studies are not concentrated in one single journal. The articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category are examined and the most cited journals and citation network are demonstrated in Graphic 2.

Graphic 2. Top Cited Journals and Cited Networks (N = 154)
Through the examination, it was unearthed that the articles in 80 different journals were cited. In Graph 2 it is recorded that the most cited journal is "Theory and Research in Social Education". This is followed by "Educational Researcher", "Journal of Teacher Education" and "American Educational Research Journal". Again, it can be proclaimed that the highest number of citations are divided amongst these three journals. The articles published re. Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category are provided in Table 7.  Table 7 is examined, it was realized that the highest number of articles was published in the United States (102 articles). Turkey (article 24), Canada (9 article) and New Zealand (4 article) seem to follow the USA in this. In the USA, where the concept of social studies emerged, the fact that the studies on social studies is high in number is natural. Social studies education in Turkey attracts attention in the field emergingly, which is yet another fundamental finding. In the Education / Education Research category, the articles published on Social Studies Education were examined as to the institution where relevant researchers/scholars work and the institutions with two or more articles were displayed in Table 8. In the analyses, it was determined that the articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Educational Research category belong to the researchers of 147 different institutions. When Table 8 is analyzed, it is seen that the institution where the highest number of studies is published is Indiana University and it is flowed by the University of Georgia (6 articles), Anadolu University, Michigan State University and University of North Carolina with five publications. Ankara University and Celal Bayar University from Turkey are situated amongst the aforementioned 15 institutions. It would not be wrong to accentuate that social studies education works are placed within a wide institutional network as opposed to being grouped in certain institutions, which implies that social studies education research is the focus of interest in almost every institution. The publication languages of the articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Training Research category are shared in Table 9. Taking a glance at Table 9, it is seen that 151 articles were published in English and 3 articles in Turkish. It can be said that the publication of social studies education studies mostly in English is a result of the widespread use of English in the scientific world. Findings related to the 4th research question are given in table 10. The funds supported by the articles published on Social Studies Education in the Education / Training Research category were examined and the top five institutions were exhibited in Table 10. In the analyses, it was found that 23 different funds supported the published articles. According to Table 10, it is seen that 3 articles are supported by the "Spencer Foundation". This institution is followed by "Dean's Doctoral Research Fellowship Teachers College Columbia University", "Fund for The Advancement of Peace and Education at Indiana University", "Gates Foundation" and "Hankuk University of Foreign Studies" (1 article). It can be inferred that the support of social studies education by 23 different funds is an indicator of the studies' being worth supporting. In addition, the fact that social studies education research is worth supporting can mean that scientists who work in this field may find support for their studies. Findings related to the 5th research question are given in Table 11. With respect to the research Education / Educational Research published in Turkey the total number of citations was 39, and the total citation average was 1.63 in imprint (24). The first five of these 24 articles cited, are in Table 11 with the related details. Yearwise, the first article from Turkey in Theory and Practice of Educational Sciences is by Ismail Karakaya and Ezel Tavşancıl in 2008. The most cited article is the article named "Social Study Teachers' Views on Learning Outside the Classroom" published in 2013 in the journal "Educational Sciences in Theory and Practice" with 7 citations. This is followed by the article "Postmodernism and its Challenge to the Discipline of History: Implications for History Education" published in 2010 in the journal "Educational Philosophy and Theory". It can be arguably be said that the number of social study education studies has increased in Turkey considerably since 2006. The reason behind this is the update in social studies education programs and creation of more resources for scientists who will concentrate upon social studies education.

Conclusion and Discussion
In the research, 228 of 64.338.472 studies registered in the WoS database between the years 1975 and January 2020 were found to be relevant to Social Studies Education. It was observed that 154 (67.54%) of these studies were included in the education / training research category. The fact that education / training research is in the first place in the WoS database shows that there are plenty of studies in the field of Social Studies Education.
In the analyses, it was encountered that the most common type of publication related to Social Study Education was 154 studies and articles. It can be pinpointed that this publication type is common as articles present concrete and objective indicators in the academic studies and the potential productivity of scholars. In the literature, there are studies with similar findings (e.g. Chao, Yang & Jen, 2007;Chiu & Ho, 2007;Karagöz & Koç Ardıç, 2019;Karagöz & Şeref, 2019;Koley & Sen, 2016;Tsay & Yang, 2005). 318 different keywords were used in 154 articles. It was disclosed that the keywords used mostly in the articles are social studies education, social studies, citizenship education, teacher education.
It was determined that the highest number of articles (24 articles) in the category of education / training research related to Social Studies Education was published in 2016. It was revealed that 84 of the published articles (54.2%) have been published in the last five years. For this rate, it can be interpreted that educational researches related to Social Studies Education have become even more prominent in recent years. According to another finding, the number of authors who contributed to the field was 246. "Martell, C.C", "Halvorsen, A.L" and "Monte-Sano, C." were the names highlighted.
It was determined that 154 articles published in the Education / Training Research category received a total of 815 citations at the time of the screening and the average citation was 5.29.
It was seen that the study cited the most was the article: "Developing citizens: The impact of civic learning opportunities on students' commitment to civic participation" published by Joseph E. Kahne and Susan, E. Sporte in the journal "American Educational Research Journal".
According to another result, the articles were found to be published in 94 different journals. In this context, it was determined that the most effective journal was named "Theory and Research in Social Education". This is followed by "Teaching and Learning Social Study", "Educational Researcher" and "Journal of Curriculum Studies". As can be seen, studies on Social Studies Education can find a place for themselves in respected journals, especially social education, social studies, and educational sciences.
It is seen that the journal cited the most in this field is "Theory and Research in Social Education". This is followed by "Educational Researcher", "Journal of Teacher Education" and "American Educational Research Journal". It was also revealed that the most frequent citations were among these three journals. It can be said that the journals with the highest number of publishing and citations are among the prestigious journals in the field of social studies and educational sciences, mostly within the scope of social sciences education and educational sciences.
In the analyses, it was understood that researchers from 18 different countries published articles contributing to the field where the most active countries were the United States, Canada and Turkey. Turkey's holding the 2 nd place out of 18 different countries with 24 studies is a sign that significant studies are being conducted there on the eminent topics of the field.
In the articles published according to the results of the analysis, the names of 147 different institutions are included. In this context, the most active institution is "Indiana University" and "University of Georgia", followed by "Anadolu University", "Michigan State University" and "University of North Caroline". Anadolu University in Turkey ranks 3 rd with five publications. Ankara University ranks 14 th with two publications. Celal Bayar University has taken its place among the institutions contributing to this field from 15 th place with 2 publications.
According to another finding, 23 different funds were found to support the published articles. In this context, 3 articles are supported by the "Spencer Foundation" and these institutions are "Dean's Doctoral Research Fellowship Teachers College Columbia University", "Fund For The Advancement Of Peace And Education At Indiana University", "Gates Foundation" and "Hankuk University of Foreign Studies" (1 article). It can be said that the fact that the funds support scientific research contributes positively to the number of publications. This is valid for Turkey as well since TUBITAK Research Project of the universities in Turkey (BAP) contributes both research and publications in a positive fashion.
When the publication languages of the published articles are examined, it is determined that 98.05% of the articles are in English language. It can be said that this situation is normal due to the fact that the language of the international academic community is English. It can be interpreted that the primary publication language of journals in the WoS database and many other databases is English. Similar findings were pronounced in several previous studies (e.g. Bordons & Barrigón, 1992;Macías-Chapula & Mijangos-Nolasco, 2002;Tsay, 2008).