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The International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI) is an archival, peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis covering cognitive, social, ergonomic, and design dimensions of interactive computing systems. Founded in 1989, the journal provides an established publication venue for researchers and research administrators evaluating empirical investigations, interface methodologies, and user experience frameworks.
What is the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction?
The International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction is a specialized scholarly journal focusing on the interaction between humans and computing systems. Indexed in the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM Unique ID: 9438800) and Crossref metadata registries, the publication has been active since 1989 (Print ISSN: 1044-7318; Electronic ISSN: 1532-7590). It serves an interdisciplinary readership spanning computer science, human factors engineering, cognitive ergonomics, information science, and applied psychology.
For scholars navigating human-computer interaction research, IJHCI is a foundational specialty journal documenting how interactive systems affect individuals and organizations. The journal registers persistent Crossref digital object identifiers (DOIs) across more than 5,500 articles, depositing reference lists and funding metadata to support open citation infrastructure.
The journal operates under a hybrid model via Taylor & Francis Open Select. Authors can publish original papers through the standard subscription route without publication fees, or elect hybrid open access upon formal acceptance through an Article Publishing Charge (APC) or institutional transformative agreement.
Who runs it and what it covers
The International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction is published by Informa UK under the Taylor & Francis imprint. Editorial management is led by international academic editors supported by an editorial board of human factors and computing researchers.
Core topical scope
The journal considers empirical, theoretical, and methodological manuscripts addressing human interaction with technology. Core areas include:
- User interface design and usability evaluation: Empirical testing, longitudinal user studies, and heuristic evaluations of digital interfaces.
- Cognitive and physical ergonomics: Mental workload, visual attention, ergonomic devices, haptic interaction, and multimodal user interfaces.
- Social computing and online collaboration: Group dynamics, computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and social media interaction paradigms.
- Emerging interactive modalities: Human-AI collaboration, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and conversational agents.
- Accessibility and universal design: Assistive technology, digital equity, elderly user interaction, and universal design frameworks.
Out-of-scope boundaries and desk-reject criteria
Understanding out-of-scope boundaries is critical for authors seeking to avoid early desk rejection. The editorial office enforces clear boundaries:
- Pure algorithms without user evaluation: Machine learning architectures, computer vision algorithms, or signal processing models lacking direct evaluation with human participants or user interfaces are out of scope.
- Clinical diagnosis tools lacking interaction evaluation: Automated medical diagnostic classifiers that do not evaluate clinician interaction or workflow usability are excluded.
- Hardware infrastructure and network routing: Sensor designs, IoT network protocols, and cloud computing frameworks devoid of human factors are redirected to technical engineering journals.
- Generic educational pedagogy: Educational interventions applying standard software without investigating interactive technology design or user experience are not accepted.
How to search or use it
Authors and researchers interact with the journal through the Taylor & Francis Online portal and the Editorial Manager submission platform. The following steps outline the operational workflow for preparing and submitting manuscripts.
Step 1: Access the journal portal and instructions
Visit the Taylor & Francis Online journal page (journal code hihc20). Review current aims, scope boundaries, and author instructions to verify manuscript alignment.
Step 2: Sign in to Editorial Manager
Select ‘Submit an article’ to access the Editorial Manager platform. Authors authenticate using existing credentials or connect their persistent ORCID identifiers to guarantee author attribution.
Step 3: Select article category and upload blinded manuscript
Select the article classification (such as Original Research Article or Review Article). The journal follows double-blind peer review, requiring authors to strip all names, institutional affiliations, and acknowledgments from the main document file. Author biographical details and title pages are submitted separately.
Step 4: Enter ethics documentation and conflict disclosures
Complete mandatory declarations required by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) standards:
- Disclosure statement: Disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, or confirm that no competing interests exist.
- Ethical approval: Provide Institutional Review Board (IRB) or research ethics committee approval numbers and verify participant informed consent for human-subject studies.
- Funding declarations: Input grant numbers and agency identifiers matching Crossref Funder Registry data.
Step 5: Provide a data availability statement
Authors must submit an explicit Data Availability Statement detailing how underlying empirical data can be accessed—such as public repository accession links, availability on reasonable request, or ethical restrictions.
Step 6: Track review status
Submissions undergo editorial screening before assignment to independent peer reviewers. Authors monitor status updates (‘Under Review’, ‘Decision in Process’) via the Editorial Manager dashboard and submit point-by-point revision responses when required.
Step 7: Finalize licensing upon acceptance
Following formal acceptance, authors complete the publishing agreement, selecting between standard subscription copyright retention or Creative Commons licensing under Open Select.
Strengths and limits
Evaluating this publication venue requires balancing its visibility against operational considerations.
Key editorial strengths
- Established citation history: Published continuously since 1989, the journal maintains an h-index of 147 and indexing across SCIE, SSCI, and Scopus.
- Zero mandatory author charges: The subscription model ensures researchers without open-access grant funding can publish peer-reviewed papers at no cost.
- Comprehensive human-centered focus: Welcomes qualitative, mixed-methods, and psychological evaluations alongside technical interface assessments.
- Global indexing recognition: Recognized in international evaluation lists, including Norwegian Register Level 1 and Finnish Jufo Level 2.
Practical limits
- High submission volume: Broad visibility leads to substantial annual submission volumes, occasionally extending peer-review turnaround times.
- Strict empirical expectations: Speculative design ideas without formal user testing or empirical evaluation encounter rapid desk rejection.
- Selective open access pricing: Gold Open Access APCs under Open Select require institutional sponsorship or dedicated grant funds.
Alternatives
When selecting a human computer interaction journal, researchers frequently compare IJHCI against alternative peer-reviewed venues across computing and behavioral sciences.
| Journal Title | Publisher | Primary Editorial Focus | Peer Review Model | Publishing Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction | Taylor & Francis | Cognitive, social, ergonomic, and design aspects of interactive systems | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid (Open Select) |
| ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) | ACM | Comprehensive theoretical, methodological, and empirical HCI research | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid / ACM OPEN |
| Interacting with Computers | Oxford University Press / BCS | Human-centered informatics, interaction design, and usability practice | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid |
| Computers in Human Behavior | Elsevier | Psychological and behavioral impacts of computing and digital media | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid |
| Human-Computer Interaction | Taylor & Francis | Foundational behavioral theory and interaction science in computing | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid |
Selecting a human-computer interaction journal for empirical research
Scholars comparing a human-computer interaction journal against general computer science publications must determine whether their primary contribution centers on user experience or computational algorithms. When research focuses on interface ergonomics, user mental workload, or interaction design, IJHCI provides expert review tailored to human factors methodologies.
Evaluating a computer-human interaction journal scope
Authors submitting to a computer-human interaction journal should ensure their methodology includes detailed participant demographics, ethical oversight disclosures, and statistical power reporting. Venues in this field require transparent reporting of user recruitment and evaluation protocols.
Frequently asked questions
Does the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction charge submission fees?
No submission fees are charged. Under the Taylor & Francis Open Select model, authors publishing through the subscription route pay no fees. Article Publishing Charges (APCs) apply only when authors elect Gold Open Access upon formal acceptance.
What peer-review format does IJHCI use?
The journal uses double-blind peer review. Reviewers do not receive author identities or institutional affiliations, and author manuscripts must be completely blinded prior to submission.
Where is the journal indexed?
The International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE and SSCI), Scopus, ACM Digital Library, and the NLM Catalog.
What are the primary causes of desk rejection?
Common causes of desk rejection include manuscripts describing purely algorithmic models or automated diagnostic classifiers without empirical evaluation involving human participants, as well as unblinded manuscript files.
Is a research data availability statement mandatory?
Yes. Taylor & Francis policy mandates a Data Availability Statement in all accepted papers, detailing whether underlying empirical data is archived in a public repository, available upon request, or restricted due to participant privacy.
Sources
- Taylor & Francis Online: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (hihc20) — Aims, scope, and author instructions (verified 2026-11-08).
- National Library of Medicine (NLM Catalog): NLM Serial Record: 9438800 — ISSN 1044-7318 / 1532-7590 and publication history (verified 2026-11-08).
- Crossref Metadata Registry: Crossref Journal Record: 1044-7318 — DOI registration and metadata deposit status (verified 2026-11-08).
- OpenAlex Scholarly Registry: OpenAlex Source Record: S165559636 — Citation metrics, h-index, and venue classifications (verified 2026-11-08).
