24 September 2011 (1230 - 1330)

Journals of the future: An interactive session

Co-ordinator:
Professor Alison J. Tierney
Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Advanced Nursing

Facilitators:
Professor Diana Lee
Chair Professor of Nursing and Director of The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Interprofessional Care

Professor Peter Griffiths
Chair of Health Services Research, University of Southampton, UK and Executive Editor of International Journal of Nursing Studies

Dr Judy Rollins
President of Rollins & Associates Inc, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA and Editor of Pediatric Nursing

Professor Sanchia Aranda
Director of Cancer Services and Information, Cancer Institute of New South Wales, Australia and a member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing 

Professor Hu Yan
Vice Dean of the School of Nursing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China and a member of the International Editorial Board of Journal of Advanced Nursing

Until recently traditional print journals have provided the main medium for disseminating scientific research. But journals have been changing fast over recent years, with internet technology constantly opening up new possibilities for e-publishing.

In nursing we have an ever-increasing array of journals in which to publish our research, both in print and online. Do we now have too many journals? Do nurse researchers publish too many papers that don't really add to existing knowledge? Are journal editors gate keepers or facilitators of effective research dissemination? Do traditional journals have value that online-only journals can't emulate (and vice versa), and is Open Access publishing proving to have benefits? How could journals of the future improve the dissemination - and the impact - of new knowledge and evidence for nursing practice and policy that derives from research?

These are some of the questions for discussion in groups, with editors as facilitators, following an introductory presentation from Alison J. Tierney, outlining changes and trends in journal publishing.

This session aims to stimulate a greater awareness in the nursing community, both in academe and in practice, of the important changes that are taking place in journal publishing. The session will be of interest to conference participants from all fields and at all levels of experience, and the aim is to encourage creative thinking about how nursing journals of the future can maximise opportunities provided by the internet for faster and more effective dissemination and uptake of research.

Lunch will be served.