The International Journal of Esports (IJESPORTS) has released the first issue of its academic journal dedicated to publishing esports research.
With topics ranging from the sector’s financial valuations to medical devices, IJESPORTS hopes that the issue brings ‘quality research to the forefront of esports’ as the industry’s business sector continues to develop and grow year-on-year.
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Speaking on the launch of the first issue, Dr Aaron Koshy, Chief Editor of IJESPORTS, commented: “I am incredibly happy that our launch went smoothly. Academic publishing is hard work and there were over 30 people working behind the scenes to make the first issue a success. The feedback has been fantastic and we are looking forward to the future publications and interesting partnerships on the way.”
As a result of IJESPORTS being an open-access academic journal, all of its articles are free to download and read anywhere in the world. To ensure the validity of the research articles, the pieces undergo a double-blind peer review by academics who have expertise in the field.
Some of the articles already featured in the academic journal include ‘The potential of physiological monitoring technologies in esports’ and ‘How do esports companies support their community’s wellness?’ amongst others.
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IJESPORTS has also appointed a ‘diverse Industry Board’ which will sit alongside the academic Editorial Board. This means that the organisation will be able to promote dialogue among other researchers whilst also proving them with a player to push their esports content.
Prof Andy Miah, Deputy Editor of IJESPORTS, added: “We are at a really exciting moment in the history of esports research and this journal hopes to bring the worlds of academia and esports industry closer together to foster a critical and crucial research community that can ensure we address some of the biggest priorities in the esports world.”
Esports Insider says: Whilst by their very nature academic journals tend to be divisive, and some of those articles published already will for sure fall into this category, the launch of IJESPORTS’ offering will hopefully encourage more research into the wider industry, globally. In turn, this should lead to more discussion and debate around it too, which, with the right checks and balances, can only be a good thing.