Figure 1: Number of references per AJET article
[65 articles, 2004-mid06, Vols 20, 21, 22(1), 22(2)]
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In making an editorial nomination for this paper we stated:
The quality of this article is grounded in its unique context and innovative approach to making educational technologies serve some of the poorest and most disadvantaged children in India. It draws to our attention an unusual combination of discovery learning and peer group learning, based upon a very economical and simple, unsupervised, teacher-less deployment of computer technologies. Though in use for some years, the "hole in the wall" computers have only recently become a subject for formal academic research. Whilst Sugata Mitra and colleagues do not provide notable advances in investigative techniques or interpretative frameworks, they do provide what we believe is an inspirational research example, stimulating others to find ways to research and deploy 'hi tech' to serve the poorest of learners.
We have quoted AERA SIG Communication of Research previously in another publication [4], very much appreciating a modest, succinct statement on their website that summarises their aims:
...we hope to do what little we can to promote free access world wide to scholarship in education [5]We are very pleased to record AJET's warm appreciation of the work by the AERA SIG Communication of Research.
| Public- ation | No. Papers [11] | No. papers citing at least 1 ref from | Total no. refs [11] | No. AJET refs | No. ASC Conf refs | Av. no. of refs per paper | |||
| AJET | ASC | All | AJET | ASC | |||||
| ASC 05 [7] | 86 | 25 29.1% | 28 32.6% | 1696 | 41 2.42% | 65 3.83% | 19.7 | 0.48 | 0.76 |
| ASC 04 [8] | 119 | 31 26.1% | 43 36.1% | 2207 | 48 2.17% | 84 3.81% | 18.5 | 0.40 | 0.71 |
| AJET 05 [9] | 30 | 13 43.3% | 10 33.3% | 1003 | 30 2.99% | 17 1.69% | 33.4 | 1.00 | 0.57 |
| AJET 04 [10] | 21 | 9 42.9% | 6 28.6% | 588 | 19 3.23% | 10 1.70% | 28.0 | 0.90 | 0.48 |
Table 1 provides a starting point for continuous annual monitoring of any trends amongst AJET authors and ASCILITE Conference authors to increase or decrease their use of references from our publications. We hasten to reassure potential authors that the number of AJET or ASCILITE Conference citations that appear in reference lists has no bearing upon the review process. Reviewers are expected to assess whether an article's references constitute a relevant, appropriate and comprehensive set, without regard to AJET's citation counts. On the other hand, it would be prudent for prospective authors to check recent volumes of AJET, to help them assess whether submission of their own article to AJET is appropriate, and to become familiar with our format and other details. Also, there's no harm done if authors try to match up their reference lists with the expectations that may be held by potential reviewers, who may well be AJET authors themselves. We do advise authors that:
Our review panel comprises researchers and practitioners drawn from the reviewer lists for ASCILITE Conferences, from our list of AJET authors, and from ASCILITE and ASET membership generally, together with some researchers and practitioners with appropriate experience and expertise invited from other sources. [12]Table 2 marks the start of an ongoing comparative study. It records the 9 most frequently cited journals and proceedings for the previous two years of AJET, and for ASCILITE 2004 Proceedings.
| Publication | AJET [13] | JALN [14] | ASC Conf [16] | ETRD [17] | BJET [18] | ET [19] | HERDSA Conf [20] | DE [21] | JECR [22] | |
| AJET 2005 (30 paps, 1003 refs) | No. refs | 30 | 30[15] | 17 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| No. paps | 13 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| AJET 2004 (21 paps, 588 refs) | No. refs | 19 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| No. paps | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| ASC 04 [8] (119 paps, 2207 refs | No. refs | 48 | 9 | 84 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| No paps | 31 | 7 | 43 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 5 | |
Table 2 cannot be represented as a 'good result' for AJET and ASCILITE Conference Proceedings, because it is the result to be expected from good 'exposure' to these publications. Good 'exposure' arises because many of the authors writing for these publications are ASCILITE members, or will have professional contacts with members, with access to printed as well as electronic copies, and related factors. On the other hand, from our perspective, Table 2 is 'not bad', because AJET and ASCILITE clearly 'outcite' other journal and proceedings reading and citing by our authors [23]. The high number of JALN citations may be discounted because two thirds of the AJET 2005 citations of JALN were due to one article [15].
Whilst AJET and ASCILITE Proceedings articles 'outcite' others, the two provide only a relatively small share of the total number of citations, and the majority of articles contain no citations of AJET or ASCILITE Proceedings (Table 1). Similarly, the 'top 9' account for only a relatively small share of total citations. For example, in AJET 2004 and 2005, 'top 9' citations (Table 2) account for only 12.2% of citations (194 in total of 1591). Putting a 'positive spin' on that observation, we can say that AJET authors draw their citations from a wide and diverse range of sources. Or, in 'negative spin' mode, we could say that diversity arises because many authors draw only upon a narrow, less than systematic, selection from the educational research literature.
The 'top 9' citations (Table 2) suggest that for AJET and ASCILITE authors, the most valuable publications from our kindred societies are HERDSA's Conference Proceedings [20] and ODLAA's journal, Distance Education [21]. Although not formally counted in our study to date, and not in the 'top 9', AusWeb [24] is well-cited. From the very large number of international, commercial or non-OA journals that relate to educational technology [25], only four, ETRD [17], BJET [18], ET [19] and JECR [22] enter the 'top 9' (Table 2) at this stage of our study.
Another study being initiated concerns the ability of Google Scholar [26] to count the number of citations of AJET articles. Readers may note a preliminary finding: of 49 citations of AJET articles made in AJET 2004-05, only 15 (31%) have been counted by Google Scholar to date (7 June 2006), although it has recorded 49 (96%) of the 51 articles in AJET 2004-05.
Figure 1: Number of references per AJET article
[65 articles, 2004-mid06, Vols 20, 21, 22(1), 22(2)]
Roger Atkinson and Catherine McLoughlin
AJET Production Editor and AJET Editor
| Conferences advertised in AJET 22(2) |
 3-6 December. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney06/ |  | Awards 2006 for exemplary use of electronic technologies in teaching and learning in tertiary education http://www.ascilite.org.au/awards.html |
 | AusWeb 2006 Australis Noosa Lakes Resort Sunshine Coast, Queensland 1-5 July 2006 http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/ | |
 10-13 July 2006, The University of Western Australia, Perth WA http://conference.herdsa.org.au/2006/ | ||
 | ALT-C 2006: The next generation
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2006/ 13th International Conference of the Association for Learning Technology Edinburgh, Scotland, 5-7 September 2006 | |
The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology is a refereed research journal published four times per year by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE). Members of ASCILITE and ISPI (Vic) receive AJET as a part of their membership benefits.
For details on submission of manuscripts, subscriptions and access to the AJET online archives, please see http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/
For editorial inquiries, contact the Editor, Associate Professor Catherine McLoughlin, School of Education (ACT), Australian Catholic University, PO Box 256, Dickson ACT 2602, Australia. Email: C.McLoughlin@signadou.acu.edu.au, Tel: +61 2 6209 1100 Fax +61 2 6209 1185. For review process, production matters and subscriptions contact the Production Editor and Business Manager, Dr Roger Atkinson, 5/202 Coode Street, Como WA 6152, Australia. Email: rjatkinson@bigpond.com, Tel: +61 8 9367 1133.
AJET is managed by a committee nominated by ASCILITE. Pending 2006 nominations, the interim AJET Management Committee comprises:
Catherine McLoughlin (Editor), Australian Catholic UniversityCopyright in individual articles contained in Australasian Journal of Educational Technology and its predecessor title is vested in each of the authors in respect of his or her contributions. Copyright in AJET is vested in ASET (1985-86), AJET Publications (1987-1996), ASCILITE and ASET (1997-2005), and ASCILITE (from 2006).
Roger Atkinson (Production Editor)
Carolyn Dowling, Australian Catholic University
Mike Keppell, Hong Kong Institute of Education
Lori Lockyer, University of Wollongong
Appointments pending
© 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be reprinted or reproduced without permission from the publishers. ISSN 1449-3098 (print) 1449-5554 (online).
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