JOE By the Numbers 2012

JOE by the Numbers 2012

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 that should interest many of you, too).

Submission Rate

JOE received 284 submissions in 2012. That's our third highest submission rate.

Readership Statistics

In 2012, there were 1,083,557 "visitors" to the JOE site who viewed 1,592,144 pages. JOE is now using newer statistics collection software that better filters "bots" and search engine crawlers. You can find readership statistics from 1998 through 2012 and definitions of terms at <http://www.joe.org/website-statistics/index.php>.

Also in 2012, JOE attracted readers from ~ 221 nations and territories. Among the top 10 nations and territories accessing JOE, the United States, not surprisingly, was number one, with 475,568 visits, and Pakistan was number 10, with 11,375 visits. 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 the same as last year's: 27.8%. (This figure is the average of data from 2008 through 2012.) JOE is a rigorous journal in which Extension professionals and other scholars can be proud to be published.

The Top 50 Most Read Articles

Now to one of my favorite features.

You can find the list of the Top 50 Most Read Articles in 2012 as well as lists from 2005 to 2012 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 the previous year. There's a lot of movement in the Top 50 lists from year to year. For example, one article on the 2012 list rose 21 places in the ranking, and another rose 18 places. It all makes for interesting reading and potentially valuable information.

You'll see that there are 14 entries in the 2012 list that weren't in the 2011 list. Some articles on the list were published as early as 1984, and others were published in 2012. This reinforces a singular advantage of Web-based journals like JOE—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.

February JOE

The Commentary in this issue is "Sextension?" <http://joe.org/joe/2013february/comm1.php>. The author makes this request:

Are you ready and willing to share how you have been helping individuals and families when it comes to sexual health? . . . Maybe you are doing something or have strong opinions either in support for or against assisting families in this way. If so, I would like to hear your voice.

In my December 2012 Editor's Page, I reminded JOE readers of the Discussion Forum feature that accompanies JOE Commentaries. It's made to order. Let the author and the rest of us hear your voice on this issue.

The first three Features and a number of other articles discuss the all-important topic of evaluation. And I'm singling out the next two, "The PNW Model: Lessons from Extension's Most Successful Regional Publishing Program"<http://joe.org/joe/2013february/a4.php> and "The Healthy Homes Partnership: A Cooperative Extension Model" <http://joe.org/joe/2013february/a5.php>, for describing Extension efforts that are truly models for us all.

And the first three Ideas at Work articles, "Nature's Notebook and Extension: Engaging Citizen-Scientists and 4-H Youth to Observe a Changing Environment" <http://joe.org/joe/2013february/iw1.php>, "The Data Party: Involving Stakeholders in Meaningful Data Analysis" <http://joe.org/joe/2013february/iw2.php>, and "Using Social Media to Involve the Public in Wildlife Research — the SNAMP Fisher Sock Collection Drive" <http://joe.org/joe/2013february/iw3.php>, are all notable for their emphasis on engaging our audiences.

I've taken note of only six of the 36 notable articles in the February issue.