This months Left-Field is a little different from the papers normally featured because this month I want to focus on the ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) journal. Computing Surveys does not publish 'new' research instead, it focuses on surveys and tutorials that integrate the existing literature and put its results in to context. However, looking back through the last 4 years surveys I cannot find one on any kind of research to do with assistive technology, devices, or research. This is strange because CSUR would seem eminently suitable for publications of this type; indeed to quote from their calls:

"The main difference between a survey and a tutorial is emphasis. A survey article assumes a general knowledge of the area; it emphasizes the classification of the existing literature, developing a perspective on the area, and evaluating trends. A tutorial assumes its audience is inexpert; it emphasizes the basic concepts of the field and provides concrete examples that embody these concepts. Both surveys and tutorials must develop a framework or overall view of an area that integrates the existing literature. Frequently, such a framework exposes topics that need additional research; a good Computing Surveys article can fill such a void, but that is not its major purpose. Basically, a Computing Surveys article answers the questions, `What is currently known about this area, and what does it mean to researchers and practitioners?' It should supply the basic knowledge to enable new researchers to enter the area, current researchers to continue developments, and practitioners to apply the results."

So I think it's just about time we, as a community, get to work on some surveys and tutorials. The journal has very high ISI Impact Factor of just over 7 so its both referenced and read by not just our community but many others. CSUR DL Portal: Table of Contents