The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the TDL Electronic Press.
If you’ve used online chat or played a multi-player game like World of Warcraft, you already know about virtual worlds – those computer simulations where avatars (either textual or graphical) stand in for actual people. Virtual worlds aren’t just for gamers or for keeping in touch with far-flung friends, however. They have broad application across a number of academic and non-academic fields, including healthcare, government, and economics.
The Journal of Virtual World Research (JVWR), a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the TDL Electronic Press, aims to provide a space for both scholars and creative communities to explore the practical and theoretical concerns that the term “virtual worlds” encompasses.
The journal is published online using Open Journal Systems, the open source online journal management software used by all TDL journals.
Jeremiah Spence, the founding editor of JVWR, started the journal in May 2008, with the aim of creating a “world-class academic journal that provided quality and useful content” to both academic and general audiences. Spence is a doctoral student at UT Austin, pursuing his degree in the area of Communications and Sociology of Technology.
JVWR operates on an Open Access model, promoting the widest possible availability to its authors’ research by charging readers nothing and requiring no payment from authors. It does receive limited financial sponsorship from the Singapore Internet Research Centre and the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at UT Austin.
Since its inception in 2008, JVWR has produced five issues, including thematic issues on areas where virtual worlds and other disciplines, such as consumer behavior and pedagogy, collide. JVWR’s most recent issue, published in May, explores the intersection of 3D virtual worlds in the realm of health and healthcare.
You can access the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research via the TDL Electronic Press or the JVWR Web site. For more information about JVWR or TDL Electronic Journals, visit the TDL Web site or contact the TDL at info@tdl.org.