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Why We Aren't Facebook?!
Q: How are journal editorials not like a Facebook post?
A: Nobody "likes" or responds to your posts!
So please read this one, because it includes a plea for more careful scholarship as it pertains to writing journal articles. Perhaps call this "an editor's lament"; some of the trends I see in submitted articles are unfortunate. The APA guide, particularly for verbatim quoting of passages from another source, is still current, but would it surprise you to know that some submitters borrow huge chunks of material from others' work, word-for-word, with no quotation marks of acknowledgement? As a part of IRRODL's behind-the-curtain operation, we put each submission through the TurnItIn system and the resultant report spews out facts and figures on where every part of a submission comes from - well, with some reservations. But it's still very far-reaching. And some submitters have had submissions declined, as we have noted too much borrowed material in their work, not appropriately referenced or cited. It's too bad when this happens, because often the research seems relevant and interesting to our readers, but it is journal policy to hold strictly to the rules that restrict the amount of previously-published material that can be used AND also to uphold adherence to APA guidelines.
But let's get on with this first regular issue of 2017, the first of many to come this year. We are delighted to be so busy! We begin with a longitudinal overview of IRRODL's content from the past 15 years. In Review and Content Analysis of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance/Distributed Learning (2000-2015), Zawacki-Richter, Alturki, and Aldraiweesh present a review of our published articles to describe the status thereof and to identify gaps and priority areas in distance education research. These broad themes were identified: the establishment of online learning and distance education institutions (2000-2005), widening access to education and online learning support (2006-2010), and the emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources (OER) (2011-2015). Although it may seem self-congratulatory, this type of long view of our field is useful; and, of course, we at IRRODL are pleased that the research confirms our status as a leading journal in the field.
Picking up on...