Aims and scope

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): The Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices is devoted to innovative research in computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). It provides an interdisciplinary and international forum for the debate and exchange of ideas concerning theoretical, practical, technical, and social issues in CSCW.

The CSCW Journal arose in response to the growing interest in the design, implementation and use of technical systems (including computing, information, and communications technologies) which support people working cooperatively, and its scope remains to encompass the multifarious aspects of research within CSCW and related areas.

The CSCW Journal focuses on research oriented towards the development of collaborative computing technologies on the basis of studies of actual cooperative work practices (where ‘work’ is used in the wider sense). That is, it welcomes in particular submissions that

(a) report on findings from ethnographic or similar kinds of in-depth fieldwork of work practices with a view to their technological implications;

(b) report on empirical evaluations of the use of extant or novel technical solutions under real-world conditions; and/or

(c) develop technical or conceptual frameworks for practice-oriented computing research based on previous fieldwork and evaluations.

The CSCW Journal’s aims and scope as stated in the first issue, 1992:
‘CSCW is defined through the actions of those who work in its name or in relation to those four letters. What CSCW is in detail is still an open question. The definition and redefinition of CSCW is an ongoing process and one which this journal is intended to reflect.’ (Editorial, vol. 1, no. 1-2, 1992, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00752448)
‘[CSCW should be conceived of as] an endeavor to understand the nature and requirements of cooperative work with the objective of designing computer-based technologies for cooperative work arrangements’ (Schmidt and Bannon, 1992, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00752449)