JOE By the Numbers 2014

JOE by the Numbers 2014

As usual this time of year, I announce the previous year's submission tally and JOE's current acceptance rate. I also report on readership statistics. And, finally, I call attention to one of the most interesting features of the JOE site (and one that should interest many of you, too).

Submission Tally

2014 was a banner year for JOE. We received 323 submissions, tying our all-time-high submission rate.

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 20.2%. (This figure is the average of data from 2010 through 2014.) JOE is a rigorous journal in which Extension professionals and other scholars can be proud to be published.

Readership Statistics

In 2014, there were 1,116,834 "visitors" to the JOE site who viewed 1,550,784 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 2014 and definitions of terms at <http://www.joe.org/website-statistics/index.php>.

Also in 2014, JOE attracted readers from ~ 227 nations and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Among the top 10 nations and territories accessing JOE, the United States, not surprisingly, was number one, with 475,059 visits, and Kenya was number 10, with 16,567 visits. You can find the list of nations and territories at <http://www.joe.org/website-statistics/nations.php>.

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 2014 as well as lists from 2005 to 2013 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 considerable movement in the Top 50 lists from year to year. For example, two articles on the 2014 list rose 15 places in the ranking, and another two rose 12 places. It all makes for interesting reading and potentially valuable information.

You'll see that there are seven entries in the 2014 list that weren't in the 2013 list. Two articles on the list were published as early as 1984, and four 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

Just as in February 2014 <http://www.joe.org/joe/2014february/ed1.php>, there are two Commentaries in the February 2015 issue of JOE involving climate change, "Embracing the Climate Change Skeptic" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/comm1.php> and "Scientific Consensus as a Foundation for Extension Programming" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/comm2.php>. The first concerns practice, and the second concerns principle. (Remember the Discussion Forum that accompanies each as you read these Commentaries.) In addition, there's the last Tools of the Trade article, "New Atlas Features Corn Belt Farmers' Perspectives on Agriculture and Climate" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/tt9.php>.

Two articles in the February issue have a national perspective on the Master Gardener program, "The First Nationally Unifying Mission Statement and Program Standards for Extension Master Gardener Programs at Land-Grant Universities" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/iw1.php> and "A Review of Extension Master Gardener Training Manuals from Around the United States" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/tt1.php>.

Interestingly, two of February's Tools of the Trade articles cite 2012's "Going the Distance Part 1: Three Keys to Successfully Delivering an Extension Course at a Distance" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2012december/tt4.php>. The third and final installment in the series, "Going the Distance Part 3: Teaching an Extension Course Using a Combination of Distance-Delivery Methods" <http://www.joe.org/joe/2015february/rb2.php>, is in this month's issue. (You'll find the second installment at http://www.joe.org/joe/2014december/a3.php>.)

And that's not to mention the other fine articles (28 of 'em) in the current issue.