What Constitutes a Research Contribution in Real Estate Related Fields? A Survey of Journal Editors

摘要

The real estate academy has always prioritized with the quality of research and research contribution. We conducted an online survey of journal editors and associate editors in real estate, housing, planning, and related fields in summer 2015. The responding editors from 23 journals represent 74% of the population. Among the dozen potential contributions, developing new theories that can be applied to existing, new or even old problems top the list, followed by identification of a new phenomenon and innovative application of methods. Lowest priority is given to potential for citations, case studies, and straight replication, which have the weakest impact. In practice, actual published articles generally followed the priorities set forth by editors. However, the most impactful articles published recently did not meet this lofty standard, instead representing application of a new method to an existing problem. The survey revealed interesting facts about journal editors, best practice, impact factors, use of reviewer software, and advice for emerging scholars.