Editorial: What Is the Purpose of Publishing Papers in a Mathematics Education Research

Journal?
Author(s): Glendon W. Blume, M. Kathleen Heid and Rose Mary Zbiek
Source: Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 41, No. 3 (May 2010), pp. 210-211
Published by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20720135
Accessed: 05-02-2016 16:33 UTC

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Editorial

What Is the Purpose of Publishing Papers

in aMathematics Education Research Journal?

Glendon W. Blume, M. Kathleen Heid, Rose Mary Zbiek

The Journal for Research inMathematics Education has the reputation of being
one of the top journals worldwide thatpublishes mathematics education research.
The task of analyzing the viability of a manuscript as a potential JRME article
naturally leads to thequestion: What is thepurpose of publishing papers in amath
ematics education research journal?
The answer to thatquestion might be very differentwhen it is considered from
the perspectives of various stakeholders. From the perspective of a person who
submits amanuscript, the journal may be viewed as a venue for reporting research
results.But thepurpose of a paper ismore than that?and simplybecause a research
studyhas been conducted does notmean it should be published. From theperspec
tive of a reviewer, a paper might merit publication because it addresses an inter
esting idea or an appealing topic. However, interesting ideas can appear inmanu
scripts thatare not research related.And not all research papers about an appealing
topicmeet thequality expectations of amajor journal. From theperspective of some
researchers, a journal article might seem valuable because it fills a gap in the
literature.However, some gaps in the literatureexist because there is not a need to
fill them.
If all of these potential purposes are not sufficientreasons forpublishing amanu
script in amathematics education research journal, thenwhat are characteristics of
a manuscript that lead to itsmeriting publication? Others have written eloquently
about judging the quality ofmathematics education research.A littleover a decade
ago, a prestigious group of mathematics educators convened to develop some
understanding of themeaning of mathematics education research. This group
produced Mathematics Education as a Research Domain: A Search for Identity,
Booh 1 and 2 (Sierpinska & Kilpatrick, 1998)?two volumes directed at devel
oping an understanding of a maturing field. The chapters addressed everything
from descriptions ofmathematics education as a research discipline to treatises on
the evaluation of research. In those volumes, Lester and Lambdin (1998) identified
the characteristics of worthwhileness, coherence, competence, openness, ethics,
and credibility as criteria forjudging thequality ofmathematics education research.
Hanna (1998) and Hart (1998) also generated lists of characteristics of quality
mathematics education research. Our goal is a bitmore modest.
We focus on two characteristics thatcomprise a litmus testforJKME-publishable
manuscripts. First, amanuscript must be about production of new knowledge about

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 Glendon W. Blume, M. Kathleen Heid, and Rose Mary Zbiek 211

mathematics education; second, itmust convey credible knowledge. Producing new

knowledge, and thus advancing thinking in the field of mathematics education,
requires that a JRME article go beyond reporting a study. One criterion for
advancing thinking in the field is that the research must be situated inwhat is
already known from existing research literatureabout the area of concern. Itmust
be a new question (or an untapped and critical aspect of a question thathas been
addressed) thataccounts for and presses beyond what is already known fromprior
research. It should help the field to understand or thinkabout one ormore aspects
ofmathematics education in a new way. Itmight do so by providing a new explana
tion for a phenomenon or a new tool to investigate that phenomenon. For an
empirical study to be a source of credible knowledge, itmust rely on a research
design thatclearly addresses the research question, on high-quality data and instru
ments thatmeet appropriate expectations of reliability and validity, on data thatare
clearly relevant to the question under consideration, and on a defensible analysis
of the data.
Execution of a high-quality and credible study thatadvances the field and produc
tion of a publishable report of that study requires hard work and, often,multiple
drafts.The quality of the report reflects the inputnot only of authors but also of
reviewerswho produce scholarly reviews of the typedescribed in a previous edito
rial(Heid& Zbiek,2009).

REFERENCES

Hanna, G. (1998). Evaluating research papers inmathematics education. InA. Sierpinska & J.Kil
patrick (Eds.), Mathematics education as a research domain: A search for identity.An ICMI Study,
Book 2 (pp. 397-407). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

Hart, K. M. (1998). Basic criteria for research inmathematics education. In A. Sierpinska & J.Kil
patrick (Eds.), Mathematics education as a research domain: A search for identity.An ICMI Study,
Book 2 (pp. 409-413). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

Heid, . .,& Zbiek, R. M. review as scholarly work. Journal for Research in

(2009). Manuscript
Mathematics Education, 40, 474-476.

Lester, F. K., Jr.,& Lambdin, D. V (1998). The ship of Theseus and other metaphors for thinking
about what we value inmathematics education research. In A. Sierpinska & J.Kilpatrick (Eds.),
Mathematics education as a research domain: A search for identity.An ICMI Study, Book 2 (pp.
409^413). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Sierpinska, A., & Kilpatrick, J. (Eds.) (1998). Mathematics education as a research domain: A search
for identity.An ICMI Study, Book 1. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Sierpinska, A., & Kilpatrick, J. (Eds.) (1998). Mathematics education as a research domain: A search
for identity.An ICMI Study, Book 2. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

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