Abstract
90.9% of corresponding authors … stated they were “very satisfied overall with this journal.”
Today nonprofit membership organizations face tremendous internal and external pressures to provide members with meaningful returns on dues investments. ALA is no exception. Scientific professionals join ALA to keep pace with new technology and the ways in which it is used successfully to increase productivity, elevate experimental data quality, reduce laboratory process cycle times, and enable experimentation that otherwise would be impossible.
Fortunately, ALA has scores of experienced, enthusiastic, and solidly committed volunteer leaders who work hard to ensure that ALA delivers on its mission. Atop a growing list of ALA membership benefits is JALA. In 1996, ALA published its first issue of Lab Automation News (LAN). It was 27 pages long. Two years later, LAN became the Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation (JALA). In 2003, ALA further elevated its publishing program by partnering with Elsevier.
JALA's evolution over the years has been in direct response to one driving force: what members want. Earlier this year, JALA concluded a four-pronged series of research initiatives to measure its current performance against this goal. Response was terrific—a record number of ALA members provided thoughtful assessments and considerate feedback. As icing on the cake, I am proud to add that the response was overwhelmingly positive.
A variety of specific publishing factors were evaluated on a scale of one to five, with five being “very” (interesting, useful, credible, etc.) and one being “not at all.” None of the factors rated received a score lower than 3.51, and 60.5% of the factors rated received scores of 4.02 or higher. Among JALA readers, the top 10 highest rated factors included:
Interestingness of special issues
Credibility of special issues
Usefulness of tutorials
Charts, graphs, photos, images clearly printed
Credibility of tutorials
Credibility of Meeting and Events Calendar
Overall appearance is easy to read and follow
Overall appearance is well organized
Interestingness of tutorials
Usefulness of special issues
Feedback from JALA authors was also very encouraging; 90.9% of corresponding authors who responded to the JALA Author Feedback Program survey stated that they were “very satisfied overall with this journal.” Authors also rated JALA's performance in eight different publishing areas on a scale of 0–10, with 0 being the lowest possible rating, and 10 being the highest possible rating. Seven of the eight areas were rated at 6.9 or better, with one area (physical quality) earning an 8.4, and one area (impact factor) earning a 6.0. In all eight areas rated, JALA showed improved ratings over the last survey period, which was tallied in mid-2006.
Among the many compliments received was one recurring suggestion for improvement. Quite a few JALA readers noted that they like to keep past issues on hand and refer back to them from time to time. They noted that while JALA's distinctive cover design made it easy to identify JALA at-a-glance, it made it difficult to differentiate one issue of JALA from another. We've addressed this concern by making a few adjustments. Beginning with this issue of JALA, the volume, issue, month and year are called out at the top right of the front cover; and the box at the bottom left calls out the topic of special issues, or the featured manuscript for general issues. Although these changes are subtle, we think they will be effective. If not, we'll count on JALA readers to let us know!
JALA's reader and author surveys are how the JALA Editorial Board, ALA Board of Directors, executive and publishing staff, and I know we are on the right track. Anecdotal feedback is always welcome and appreciated, but these benchmarks help us to objectively evaluate and track JALA's performance and progress, and help us to set meaningful goals and priorities. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to complete at least one of our surveys or participate in our focus group.
Sincerely,
