Abstract
If you are like me, you remember the days of going to your university library to gather articles for your next nursing research paper. At the time, we used the Index Medicus (patiently waiting for a classmate to finish with the volume you needed) to locate pertinent journal articles that would be used to write the paper. Of course once we found the articles on the shelf (if we were lucky enough that the library subscribed to the journal) or micro fiche, we needed to gather all of our dimes to make copies of the selected articles. Fast forward about a decade and life at the library became much easier with the electronic availability of CINAHL and Medline. Not long after, this access became available in our own homes and trips to the library were no longer a necessity.
When it comes to writing papers and manuscripts, you could certainly say we have come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Similarly, the publication of scholarly articles has also evolved from the traditional subscription based model to the open access model. With open access, students, researchers, and the general public have free access to open access journal content. While some have debated the merit of open access journals, primarily because of the associated costs of publication (Fava, 2014), open access journals have flourished in recent years. In fact, since 2000, the average annual growth rate of open access journals has been 18% and of open access articles, the rate has been 30% (Laakso et al., 2007). When open access journals are properly managed and executed (reputable publisher, member of COPE, standard review process), they are valuable, scholarly resources for the specialty areas being served. That said I am honored to be the first editor of SAGE Open Nursing.
SAGE Open Nursing is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that welcomes articles across the various nursing specialties. This diversity in nursing specialties is evident in our talented Editorial Board. SAGE Open Nursing editorial board members are located across the country and specialize in a variety of nursing areas. This group of experienced administrators, clinicians, educators, and researchers will help guide the mission and vision of SAGE Open Nursing. The Journal publishes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research articles, quality improvement articles or reports, as well as reviews and commentaries. In addition, ideas for special collections are welcome. Each article submitted and accepted by the double-blind, peer review process will be made freely available online upon publication. Publication costs of the Journal are covered by the collection of Article Processing Charges which are paid by the author/institution/funder of the manuscript upon acceptance. There is no charge for submitting a manuscript to the Journal. If you are interested in serving as a reviewer or proposing a special collection topic, please contact me at
Best Regards
Concettina Tolomeo, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, AE-C
Editor