During summer 2017, in collaboration with Wolters Kluwer, the publisher of Nursing Education Perspectives (NEP), the research journal of the NLN, readers were surveyed to determine: 1) What are the general reading habits and impressions of the print version of the journal? 2) What are the general online habits related to the journal's website? All current journal readers with a valid email address were surveyed, with a response rate of 7 percent. A separate survey of NEP authors and reviewers was also conducted, with response rates of 40 percent for authors and 37 percent for reviewers.
The demographics of the sample revealed that the majority of journal readers mirror the current demographics of nurse faculty nationally. Only 7 percent of respondents are under the age of 35 years, and 77 percent are over the age of 45 years. The most represented age group-21 percent-is 56 to 60 years. In addition, the majority of readers are faculty teaching in the classroom (71 percent) and in the clinical area (52 percent). Less than 25 percent teach in simulation and advanced practice and as staff nurses.
The journal benefits from mixed tenure of readers, with a majority reading at least half of every issue. Figure 1 describes why researchers choose to read NEP. Readers look to the journal to aid in growing the knowledge base relevant to nursing education research. Although three quarters find applicable value in NEP, they also think that more research briefs would benefit the content. Readers value the longevity of the journal because a near majority archive issues for future reference. In addition, pass-along readership to others is strong at 46 percent. Ninety-one believe that the journal is valuable to their work, as shown in Figure 2.
Qualitative comments were solicited to describe the quality and reach of the journal. The following responses to the question "Which of the following best describes why you submitted a manuscript for publication to NEP?" are typical:
* A very credible nursing education journal with wide circulation
* Affiliated with NLN
* I love the journal for its credibility as the journal of the NLN[horizontal ellipsis]the definitive home for nurse educators.
The following comments are among the comments received from journal authors in response to this question, "How does NEP compare to the other journals you have submitted to in terms of overall quality?":
* About the same as other journals
* Feedback that is constructive but kind and received in a timely manner
* Slow turnaround for articles; long time frame from manuscript acceptance to publication
* It was not my first choice because of my perception of the quality of articles in older issues. I have since come to recognize considerable improvement in the aesthetic appearance of the journal and the quality of the articles it contains. Now I actually think the quality of articles published in NEP is better than articles I've seen in other nursing education journals.