Computers in Education

Computers & Education aims to increase knowledge and understanding of ways in which digital technology can enhance education, through the publication of high quality research, which extends theory and practice.

The Editors welcome research papers on the pedagogical uses of digital technology, where the focus is broad enough to be of interest to a wider education community.

We do not publish small-scale evaluations of specific software/systems in specialist domains or particular courses in individual institutions (unless the findings have broader relevance that is explicitly drawn out in the paper). Papers that include discussions of the implementation of software and/or hardware should focus on the context of use, the user/system interface, usability issues and evaluations of the user experience and impacts on and implications for learning and teaching. Detailed information on implementation architecture should NOT be included in the paper, but may be provided via hot-links. We welcome review papers that include clear aims (research questions), a framework of analysis, and conclusions that reflect the aims of the paper.

Selection criteria

Papers must:
• align with the aims of the journal
• be within the scope of the journal
• include an appropriate, current and comprehensive literature review
• have a sound research methodology (see additional notes on methodology below)
• evidence a high level of critical analysis
• explicitly indicate how they advance the field
• comply with the author guidelines
• not have been submitted/published elsewhere
• not already have been rejected (without the option to resubmit) by CAE

Guidance on methodology
CAE welcomes both qualitative and quantitative research of the highest quality. High quality research is internally consistent, theoretically informed, evidence based, rigorous and transparent, and ethically informed.

The Editors have published an editorial providing additional guidance on reporting quantitative studies and will provide further guidance on the reporting of qualitative studies in upcoming issues: Some Recommendations for the Reporting of Quantitative Studies

Benefits to authors
We also provide many author benefits, such as free PDFs, a liberal copyright policy, special discounts on Elsevier publications and much more. Please click here for more information on our author services.