TRENDS IN RESEARCHS TRAINING OF GIFTED: A METHODOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Exploration of gifted individuals, revealing their talents and intelligence potentials and directing them according to their interests are increasingly attached importance in Turkey. Accordingly, gifted training-oriented researches is also increasing in our day. The aim of this study is to methodologically analyse the postgraduate theses prepared in the field of education of highly gifted individuals. The study group of this research, designed in compliance with qualitative research approach, has been consisted of 46 postgraduate theses prepared at universities in Turkey between the years 2002 and 2016, open to public, and accessible in the National Thesis Center. Criterion sampling method, which is one of the suitable sampling methods for qualitative research methodology, has been applied in the establishment of the study group. Document review has been used for the collection of the research data. “Scientific Publication Analysis Form” was used in the study, developed by researchers as an instrument for data collection .Descriptive content analysis has been used in the analysis of research data, and validity and the reliability measures specific to qualitative research were taken. According to the results of the research; it has been found that a large number of graduate theses prepared between the years 2002 and 2016 have been constituted by postgraduate theses, and the majority of the theses are based on quantitative research methodology, and include qualitative and mixed method- based researches.It has been determined that descriptive research design was mostly used in quantitative researches, and case studies and historical research designs have been used in qualitative researches in the theses. Mostly the data collection techniques, such as tests / scales, interview and observation techniques have been used in the researches. The methods of predictive analysis came into prominence in the data analysis of quantitative studies; content analysis in the data analysis of qualitative studies.

Keywords
Training of Gifted, Qualitative Research, Methodological Analysis, Trend.