Bibliometric Analysis of Inquiry-Integrated STEM Research in Physics Education: Trends and Research Gaps (2020-2026)
Hartining Tyas, I Made Astra

Jakarta State University

Abstract

This paper reports a bibliometric analysis into the integration of inquiry-based mlearning and STEM approaches within the domain of secondary physics education, drawing on scholarly publications released between 2020 and 2026. A corpus of 118 Scopus-indexed documents was downloaded and processed using VOSviewer to generate knowledge maps via co-occurrence, temporal overlay, and density visualizations. The resulting bibliometric network comprises 31 key terms distributed across 8 thematic clusters, interconnected by 63 links with a cumulative link strength of 77. Notably, electromagnetic induction and Faraday^s law appear as distinct keywords, forming Cluster 5 alongside high school students. Nevertheless, these terms exhibit relatively small node sizes and remain spatially distant from the dominant clusters of inquiry-based learning and STEM education, pointing to weak thematic integration. Conceptual understanding resides in a separate cluster (Cluster 2), while more recent directions (2024-2026) are marked by the emergence of computational thinking and tracker. Targeted Scopus queries further reveal that only 11 out of 118 articles (approximately 8.7%) address conceptual understanding within inquiry-STEM contexts in physics, and not a single publication combines inquiry-STEM with electromagnetic induction and wireless charging. Additionally, merely two articles have examined conceptual understanding specifically related to electromagnetic induction. In contrast to earlier bibliometric reviews in physics education that have largely concentrated on general pedagogical frameworks, the current work identifies a previously unmapped research vacuum at the nexus of inquiry-STEM, conceptual understanding, and electromagnetic induction with wireless charging technologies. This mapping serves as a rationale for designing wireless charging laboratory kits anchored in inquiry-STEM principles, aimed at fostering conceptual comprehension of electromagnetic induction among senior high school students.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis- inquiry-based learning- STEM education- physics education- VOSviewer- research gap- electromagnetic induction- wireless charging

Topic: Physics Education