StackOverflow (SO), a prominent question-answering site for programming, has amassed a vast repository of user-generated content since its inception in 2008. This paper conducts a thorough analysis of research trends on SO, examining 170 publications from 2008 to 2019. Utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods, the study categorizes papers using literature review and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), identifying 62 topics grouped into 8 main categories. Additionally, it highlights tools developed by researchers using SO data sets, showcasing their practical applications. The analysis also identifies research gaps and proposes future directions for each research area. This study serves as a valuable resource for practitioners and researchers interested in utilizing community data sets, offering insights into existing work, essential tools and techniques, and potential avenues for future research.