Readers’ Perceptions of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management Journals

Abstract

This article describes the results of a survey conducted via e-mail of readers of the three leading generalist, peerreviewed scholarly journals in the field of nonprofit sector studies:Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, andVoluntas. The composition of the sample of respondents suggests that the readers of the journals include a substantial number of people relatively new to the field. Most identify themselves as academic researchers, although a significant minority represents practitioners or consultants. Results show that readers are generally pleased with the journals, giving them relatively high ratings on the quality of articles, readability of the research, and accessibility of the methodology. The results also show that consistent with their editorial missions, the three journals serve somewhat distinct niches and that the increased supply of journals has helped the field to grow.