A Bibliometric Analysis of STEM Education for Undergraduate Level Based on CiteSpace Software

Abstract

This study aims to review the STEM education intervention on the undergraduate level by applying CiteSpace software, an innovative tool for bibliometric analysis and visualization. The Web of Science (WOS) database was used and covers the period from January 2008 to August 2023. Based on keyword search, seven clusters with the largest research volume in the past 15 years were identified and analysed with relevant literature. The results revealed that the trending topics of STEM education research included racial and gender differences in STEM education, reform of STEM education assessment and motivation methods for undergraduates, strategies to improve STEM academic performance, and the impact of STEM education on undergraduate employment. Furthermore, a cluster analysis of keywords and references was conducted to explore the connections between the clustered themes and the core theme of STEM. The timeline visualization diagram was used to examine the duration and evolution of each research theme in STEM education, which provided useful information for identifying the direction of STEM research. Finally, through the citation burst analysis, the top 15 most cited references were determined, and the STEM research hotspots were discussed in relation to their literature, which were consistent with the STEM research hotspots derived from the high-frequency themes and node literature. The findings of this study offer important insights into the development trend of STEM education and provide an evidence base and reference for future research and development of STEM education particularly at the undergraduate level.