Editorial

Citation

Cervai, S. and Kekale, T. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 21 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jwl.2009.08621eaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Workplace Learning, Volume 21, Issue 5

In correspondence with one of the authors of last year’s JWL Best Paper award winner, Dr Shelley Berg first thanked the Editorial Board for the selection and then stated the criteria for academic publishing with beautiful simplicity: “As you may expect, we put great effort into employing rigorous research design and analysis methods and strove to report on all in detail.”

As you, dear Reader, may have noted we have reduced the Professional practice element in the journal this year, and are looking instead for rigorous research designs and analysis methods as well as detailed research reports. We believe that our task is first and foremost to be a scientific, peer-reviewed journal; professional support for learners and facilitators is available elsewhere. We are not completely ceasing the publication of Professional practice papers, but the number of these will go down. In 2009 the place of some of these articles will be filled with research methodology papers written by some of our Editorial Board members. In this issue, we highlight the general principles of ”employing rigorous research design and analysis methods ” in the writing of case study methodologies. Our Italian colleagues Alberto Crescentini and Giuditta Mainardi have written the article.

Except for that paper, our Editorial Board has again passed four articles as including rigorous research in workplace learning. While we are again writing this Editorial in the midst of some difficult times, it is fitting that the informal theme of this issue is change. The first article, by Eva Kyndt, Filip Dochy, Hanne Nijs, compares learning conditions for non-formal and informal workplace learning. From there, we progress to employee communication in technological change (article by Sweety Law), the interplay between change and learning in the workplace (article by Stefanie Hetzner, Martin Gartmeier, Helmut Heid and Hans Gruber) and finally, before Crescentini’s and Mainardi’s “Methodological corner”, there is an article by Dan Bouhnik, Yahel Giat and Yafit Sanderovitch on how high-tech company engineers use asynchronous learning sources to keep up with the pace of change. From previous crises and personal experience we know that change is mostly painful, but change also is one of the best providers of learning experiences.

We hope that you, dear Reader, are inspired by our article collection in this issue. Keep researching through rigorous designs and analysis, reporting in detail and sending the article manuscripts to us.

Sara Cervai, Tauno Kekale