Journal profile · EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Research in Learning Technology
ISSN 2156-7069 · eISSN 2156-7077 · Association for Learning Technology · United Kingdom
Research in Learning Technology: CAS Zone 4 · Education (2025 upgraded edition); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 20 weeks (community reports); 19 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Research in Learning Technology is published by Association for Learning Technology and is in Zone 4 of Education in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Online and Blended Learning, Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods and Open Education and E-Learning, together about 43% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education and Computer Science Applications. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The focus of the journal is on publishing high quality evidence-based manuscripts from researchers, practitioners and policy makers which serve the needs of the diverse and international readership. Manuscripts can be purely research-based or draw critically on practice-based approaches in the area of technology enhanced learning. Articles can be focused on any level of education, from formal primary, secondary, further and tertiary (higher) education to professional learning (e.g. CPD) and informal learning. Research in Learning Technology publishes articles in the following broad areas: technology enhanced learning, online learning, distance learning, mobile learning, flexible learning, wearable technologies, simulation, learning environments, learning spaces, pedagogy, open educational practice and social media.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Editor-in-chief Peter BryantPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Hong Kong, China 1, United Kingdom 1, Australia 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Online and Blended LearningSocial Sciences22.8%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology13.2%
- Open Education and E-LearningComputer Science7%
- Online Learning and AnalyticsComputer Science5.9%
- Mobile Learning in EducationComputer Science5.1%
- Reflective Practices in EducationSocial Sciences3.9%
- Impact of Technology on AdolescentsSocial Sciences3.6%
- E-Learning and Knowledge ManagementComputer Science3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Education Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Education Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Education & Educational Research | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- h-index
- 70OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 450OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.41%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 19LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 961 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 | 21 | 9 |
| 2025 | 19 | 19 | 105 |
| 2024 | 17 | 17 | 93 |
| 2023 | 25 | 25 | 228 |
| 2022 | 14 | 14 | 139 |
| 2021 | 21 | 21 | 613 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Colour charges
- No colour charges
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- reviewand references. In some cases, the peer review process and redrafting may result in the published paper exceeding 6000 words, but if the paper is over the 6000 …main text ≤ 6,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Self-archiving
- AI use
LLM tools cannot be authors; use of LLMs must be disclosed in acknowledgements. Model summary
Large Language Model (LLM) tools such as ChatGPT will not be accepted as the main author for a proposal, because any attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, and AI tools cannot take such responsibility. Authors using LLM tools such as ChatGPT should set this out clearly in the acknowledgement section of the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Authors must disclose all potential competing interests. Model summary
Authors are responsible for disclosing all relationships that could be viewed as potential conflicts of interests.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Institutional ethical clearance required before submission. Model summary
Authors must ensure that their research is conducted in accordance with their institution's ethical guidelines and that appropriate clearance from the relevant committee is obtained prior to the work being submitted to Research in Learning Technology.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
No publication fees; colour illustrations and supplementary material free. Model summary
Research in Learning Technology is an Open Access Journal published by the Association for Learning Technology. Author(s), their employer(s), or their funder(s) retain copyright, but license ALT to publish their work under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) License. Articles will be published online immediately after the final corrections of the master proof have been mad…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review; authors must remove identifying information from documents and metadata. Model summary
To support our double-blind peer review process, be sure to remove identifying information from all documents, both metadata and text.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
All submissions screened for plagiarism with Similarity Check/iThenticate. Model summary
To verify the originality of submitted content, RLT editors check all submissions for plagiarism using Similarity Check/Ithenticate, a plagiarism screening software that checks submissions against millions of published research papers, and billions of web content.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints PREPRINT POLICY
The journal allows authors to upload previous drafts of articles, provided the author accepts the following: The author retains copyright to the preprint and developed works from it, and is permitted to submit to the journal. The author declares that a preprint is available within the cover letter presented during submission. This must include a link to the location of the preprint. The author ack…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Author Self-Archiving
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post any version of their manuscript to personal or institutional websites, in repositories and similar, prior to and after publication (while providing the bibliographic details of that publication). PREPRINT POLICY The journal allows authors to upload previous drafts of articles, provided the author accepts the following: The author retains copyright to th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Association for Learning Technology
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2156-7069
- Electronic ISSN
- 2156-7077
- Society / sponsor
- Open Academia
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Research in Learning Technology
What CAS zone is Research in Learning Technology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Research in Learning Technology is in Zone 4 of Education, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Education & Educational Research. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Education. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Research in Learning Technology?
Authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Research in Learning Technology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 3; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Research in Learning Technology based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Hong Kong, China (1), United Kingdom (1) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Research in Learning Technology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Research in Learning Technology is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Research in Learning Technology open access, and what is the APC?
Research in Learning Technology is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .