Editors and editorial staff of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing and Journal of Nursing Scholarship had reason to celebrate last week when Journal Citation Reports released its 2009 impact factors, which measure how frequently peer-reviewed journals are cited by other researchers.  |
| Jo Rycroft-Malone |
Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing ranked first among 72 journals in the nursing category of science journals and first among 70 in the nursing category of social science journals. JNS’ ranking improved to 12th and 11th, respectively, in those citation reports. Wiley-Blackwell publishes the two journals on behalf of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI).
Jo Rycroft-Malone, RN, PhD, editor of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, was delighted with the journal’s top ranking. “It is one of the most significant milestones of my career so far,” she says. “This is the culmination of seven years of hard work that has paid off beyond our wildest expectations.”
The content of Worldviews includes systematic reviews, original articles, an evidence digest and resources for educating nurses. One reason the journal is cited often, Rycroft-Malone says, is that evidence-based practice is a global issue, and its content appeals to nurses across the international context.
“Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing fills a particular and significant gap: It provides scholarly and evidence-based accounts of how nurses might go about improving practice and ultimately impact on the outcomes of patients,” Rycroft-Malone says.
“We have strived to deliver high-quality content and have been willing to work with authors to deliver this. Our aim has always been to be the leading resource for evidence-based nursing practice; this year, at least, we have achieved that goal.”
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| Susan Gennaro |
Susan Gennaro, RN, DSN, FAAN, editor of Journal of Nursing Scholarship (JNS), was pleased with the significant improvement over the 2008 citation reports, when JNS ranked 24th of 62 nursing journals in the science division and 21st of 59 in the social science division.“An improvement in any quality indicator is heartwarming for an editor,” Gennaro says. “As the impact factor is the most widely used quality measure, it is particularly gratifying to see the dramatic increase for JNS in 2009, the first impact factor that fully reflects my work as an editor and the work of our current editorial board.”
In addition to the impact factor, Gennaro follows trends in the number of articles downloaded, an indication of how many people are reading and using the knowledge published in the journal. She also monitors the length of time from manuscript submission to final decision (currently 50 days), which she considers an indicator of the dedication of the journal’s reviewers and editorial staff.
| The impact factor is an evaluation tool published in Journal Citation Reports by Thomson Reuters (formerly The Institute for Scientific Information, or ISI). The impact factor is calculated by dividing the citations a journal receives in the current year by the number of source items (citable items) published in the previous two years. The impact factor is the most widely known and used metric in judging the quality of journals, says Fiona Williams, journals publishing manager for health sciences at Wiley-Blackwell. Publishing in a journal with a high perceived worth can help authors secure future funding, receive job promotions and gain recognition from peers. Librarians may take the impact factor into account when deciding whether or not to renew subscriptions, especially when budgets are tight. As a measure of a journal’s quality and influence on a field of study, the impact factor has flaws, Williams says, but despite its limitations, the metric is unlikely to be displaced in the immediate future. |
“The editorial board has worked diligently to identify cutting-edge global research and to ask leading authors to publish in JNS,” Gennaro says. “So, it is not surprising to me that the impact factors have increased.”
STTI’s president, Karen Morin, RN, DNS, ANEF, attributes the improved rankings for Worldviews and JNS to hard work by the journal editors and advisory boards.
“Increases in ranking reflect the journals’ commitment to publishing cutting-edge science that is globally relevant,” Morin says. “Worldviews’ position as number one reinforces the critical need for a journal designed to bridge knowledge and application and is a tribute to the visionary leadership of the honor society.”
In achieving the top ranking, Rycroft-Malone acknowledged the contributions of her team: associate editors Tracey Bucknall, RN, PhD, of Deakin University, Australia, and Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, of Arizona State University, United States, along with her editorial board, the STTI editorial staff and Wiley-Blackwell.
Her team is still working on ways to improve the journal and respond to feedback from readers and contributors, Rycroft-Malone says. “We hope the future will be more of the same—onward and upward!” RNL
—Jane Palmer, assistant editor of Reflections on Nursing Leadership.
