Community of Inquiry Framework: Research Trends Between 2000-2020

Abstract

The current study aimed to understand the trend in the community of inquiry that many researchers have been working on for over 20 years. Within the scope of this aim, 102 studies were reviewed with regards to some variables: most preferred keywords and words in abstract, year of publication, authors, journals, geographical distribution, academic disciplines, research methods, course delivery methods, participant type, and references. The findings demonstrate that the articles reviewed were from 216 authors in 20 countries. Most of the studies were from the Social Sciences field, and the continent with the most studies was North America. Quantitative research methods were mostly preferred in the studies, and the study group of a great of majority the studies were higher education students. Finally, various recommendations were made for future research after determining gaps that exist in the current literature.