The use of frameworks in chemistry education research

Extant literature has emphasized the importance of education research being theory-based. To this end, many research articles have a distinct “theoretical framework” section describing the theoretical underpinnings that inform the research. Nevertheless, there is large variation in how explicit articles are regarding their use of frameworks in the research process. This work describes a literature review focusing on the use of frameworks (broadly defined) in chemistry education research. Our sample draws on research articles published in Chemistry Education Research and Practice and the Journal of Chemical Education from 2018 to 2021 (n = 457). The longitudinal analysis revealed general trends about the presence of frameworks in research articles over four years as well as the types of frameworks commonly used. In addition, we analyzed how frameworks were used within individual research articles published in 2021, focusing on chemistry education research articles and research articles published across biology, engineering, mathematics, and physics education research journals (n = 595). Our goal is to describe how frameworks were used to open a dialogue and inform future chemistry education research.