What do human factors and ergonomics professionals value in research publications? Re-examining the research–practice gap

The research–practice gap is of concern in human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) as there is a belief that HF/E research may not be making an impact on practice in the ‘real world’. A potential issue is what researchers and practitioners perceive as important in HF/E journal articles as a primary means of conveying research findings to practitioners. This study examined the characteristics that make scientific journal articles appeal to HF/E researchers and practitioners using a web-based survey. HF/E researchers and practitioners were more similar than expected in judgements of important attributes and the selection of articles. Both practitioners and researchers considered practical significance to be more important than theoretical significance, in direct contrast to professionals from a related discipline – psychology. Well-written articles were appreciated across disciplines. The results signal a strong interest in practical applications in HF/E, but a relative lack of focus on development of theories that should be the basis for practical applications. Practitioner Summary: HF/E researchers and practitioners make similar choices of journal articles and view presentation quality and practical significance as high but theory as low in determining the impact of articles, indicating a smaller than expected research–practice gap and that HF/E should encourage stronger focus on theory to ensure its continuing development.