JOE by the Numbers 2009

JOE by the Numbers 2009

As usual this time of year, I report on the previous year's submission rate and readership statistics. And I announce JOE's current acceptance rate. I also call attention to one of the most interesting features of the JOE site (and one of my favorites).

Submission Rate

JOE received 323 submissions in 2009. That's 38 more than our previous all-time high, set in 2007.

Readership Statistics

In 2009, there were 1,377,441 "visitors" to the JOE site who viewed 3,128,217 pages. These figures are lower than those in previous years. That's because JOE is now using newer statistics collection software that better filters "bots" and search engine crawlers. So these statistics should not be compared with those of previous years as an indicator to activity on the JOE Web site. You can find these statistics and definitions of terms at <http://www.joe.org/website-statistics/index.php>.

Also in 2009, JOE attracted readers from 220 nations and territories (38 more than in 2009). You can find these nations and territories listed at <http://www.joe.org/website-statistics/nations.php>.

Acceptance Rate

In 2003, we started collecting the data that would allow us to post an annual acceptance rate for JOE, but posting annual acceptance rates caused confusion. It also failed to account for submissions that were submitted in one year but reviewed in another. We now have enough reliable data from enough years to post a single rate.

JOE's current acceptance rate is 34%. (This figure is the average of data from 2005 through 2009.) JOE is a rigorous journal in which Extension professionals and other scholars can be proud to be published.

The Top 50 Most Read Articles

You can find the list of the Top 50 Most Read Articles in 2009 as well as lists from previous years at <http://www.joe.org/about-joe-website-statistics.php>. Included are indications of which articles are new to the list and how the articles ranked in 2008. You'll see that there are 15 new entries on the 2009 list. Three of the articles on the Top-50 list are articles published in 1984. It all makes for interesting reading—and potentially useful information.

That three new entries on the list were first published in '84 also reinforces what I said in my December 2009 Editor's Page about "a singular advantage of Web-based journals like JOE"—that all of the articles still "live" and "speak."

These lists are certainly not a reflection on the quality of the JOE articles that "made the lists" as opposed to those that didn't. But they do say a lot about the degree of interest readers from around the world have in some of the topics discussed in JOE.

Keywords Are Key

The JOE Submission Guidelines explain that "keywords and key phrases help information seekers find relevant articles, serve to generate better search engine results, and enable readers to grasp the contents of your article."

But some of the keywords and key phrases submitted by authors have been too general to be particularly useful for searches or really reflective of the articles. That's why we've revised the guidelines, which now include a link to "How to Choose Effective Keywords and Key Phrases." (We've also made that the answer to a JOE FAQ <http://www.joe.org/about-faqs.php>.)

February JOE

I've come too close to the word limit I set for myself to do justice to the February issue. You'll simply have to read it. You definitely won't be sorry.

The authors of the Commentary say they want to "spark discourse around our collective identity as agents of change." If they succeed in their sparking, you can contribute to the conversation on the Discussion Forum link you'll find at the end of the article.

And I can't end this Editor's Page before calling your attention to the first four Research in Brief articles, which all discuss Extension staff considerations: what motivates agents to pursue an Extension career, workplace issues, opportunities and threats posed by field staff specialization, and retirement and attrition trends.

That's just five of 29 articles (30, if you count this one)!