A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies applying Escape Room as an Innovative Teaching Method

Objectives This study examined the evolution and trends in escape room research as an innovative teaching method, with a focus on its inception, utilization, and application within educational settings. Methods The search was conducted on July 19, 2024, using the Web of Science Core Collection database. The search terms “escape room” and “room escape” were applied in the “All category” field, with no time span limitations. The search area was set to “All fields,” encompassing titles, abstracts, author keywords, and keyword plus. Duplicates were identified and removed using Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), resulting in a final dataset of 715 documents. Bibliometric analysis of these 715 documents was performed using the open-source Bibliometrix R package. The analysis covered the number of papers published by year, the most frequently published journals, the most prolific authors, paper production by country and institution, citation counts, and keywords. Results Escape room research has been published since 2016, and among the 715 documents published by the search date, the highest number of publications occurred in 2021, with 146 papers, followed by a slight decline thereafter (annual growth rate: 38.23%, p = 0.3125). The journal with the most publications was the Journal of Chemical Education, with 24 articles published. The author with the highest number of papers was Gordillo A from Spain, while the most cited author was Eukel HN from the United States. In terms of author dominance, calculated based on the ratio of first-author papers, the leading researcher was Moore L from Australia. The United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom were the top countries in escape room research, and among the top 20 affiliated institutions, 8 were universities in Spain. Regarding keyword analysis, “Game” and “Students” were the most frequently used terms in Keyword Plus, while “Escape room” and “Gamification” were the most commonly used in Author Keywords. The most frequently cited paper, with a total of 169 citations, was “Educational Gaming for Pharmacy Students: Design and Evaluation of a Diabetes-Themed Escape Room,” authored by Eukel, Frenzel, and Cernusca in 2017. Conclusions This bibliometric analysis offers a detailed overview of the trajectory and scope of escape room research in education. The findings elucidate trends that may support the further development and refinement of innovative teaching methodologies.