Virtual Reality in Earth Physics Learning: Research Trends through Bibliometric Analysis (2016-2020)

Abstract

The use of technology in the education field is both exciting and challenging. Learning media such as Virtual Reality (VR) that applied futuristic strategy offered a virtual experience that can stimulate the cerebral cortex system couldbe an answer for the education needs in the revolution industry 4.0. This study aims to analyse the scientific trends of VR research in earth physics learning through bibliometric analysis from the Scopus database source period 2016 to 2020. A sampling of data was taken from the Scopus database using specific keywords for the period 2016-2020 on April 6, 2021. A total of 1,689 documents are gathered. It was found that there was a significant increase in the number of documents in 2020. Most of the documents were dominated by articles written in English. Indonesia also contributed a small amount of 14 documents out of the total documents gathered. It means there is still plenty of opportunities to research VR for education in Indonesia. The results highlight the optimism in using VR to teach earth physics by identified three clusters: model, student (sample), and literature. These clusters may help to recommend a new strategy for further VR research in the education field.