Topical and methodological content analysis of education science thesis and dissertations of Tabriz University from 1997 to 2016

The main objective of this research is to know the content status theses and dissertations of Tabriz University in Educational Psychology, Curriculum Planning, Human Resources Education and Improvement in order to determine the subject trend and methods used in each field  from 1376 to 1395. The present research is applied in term of objective which has done using content analysis method. Out of 405 theses and dissertations in the field of educational sciences that were available in the library of the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology at the time of the research, 195 cases were selected as sample. A researcher-made check-list was used to collect data. The findings of the study showed that in the field Human Resources Education and Improvement theses were in 9 subject areas, with the highest frequency in the ​​"performance evaluation" subject area (4 cases); in the field of Curriculum Planning, theses were in 11 subject areas with the highest frequency in the ​​"learning and teaching theories" subject area (20 cases); In the field of Educational Psychology, theses were in 14 subject areas with the highest frequency in the subject area of ​​"study and learning strategies" (14 cases); In the field of Educational Psychology (doctoral degree) dissertations were in 6 subject areas, with the highest frequency in the "behavior modification and change" and "new methods teaching and learning" subject areas (5 cases). Furthermore, the most used research method at the theses and dissertations of educational sciences was the correlation method. The results showed that gender had no effect on the subject area of theses and dissertations, however the grade had a direct effect on the type of research method used. Determining the research priorities in each of the fields of educational sciences in both master's and doctorate levels, as well as teaching various research methods in order to enrich theses and dissertation in this field, is necessary.