Introduction

The success of most academic journals can be captured in a single number, its impact factor. This provides a measure of the importance of the research being published and the degree to which it influences other authors in the field. Practical Neurology, in contrast, defines its impact by other measures: how often it is read; how useful are the articles to clinical neurologists; how often it influences clinicians in the clinic and whether it is interesting, entertaining and thought provoking.

In the spring of this year, we undertook a web-based questionnaire to find out how well the journal serves its readers, looking for your comments and …