Editorial pubs.acs.org/ac
Around the World with Analytical Chemistry
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ubmissions to most scientific journals are becoming more international, and this is certainly true for Analytical Chemistry. We published more than 1500 articles in 2013, the most ever. At the same time, due to the increasing overall number of submissions from around the globe, Analytical Chemistry editors became more selective when accepting articles. Last year we received similar numbers of manuscripts from North America, Europe, and Asia, with China and the U.S. tied for the most submitted articles. What does the future hold? While we lack a crystal ball, we can look at authors submitting articles for the first time as they represent the future of our field. We had the same number of articles submitted by new authors from China and the U.S., and yet these two counties represented less than half of our new authors. This suggests that our journal will continue to become more global. Analytical Chemistry handles articles differently from some journals in that the country of origin does not impact the review process. For example, if you submit an article on mass spectrometry, it will be handled by an associate editor having the appropriate expertise, no matter where you are from or where the editor is located. Thus, while we have an increasing international pool of outstanding associate editors (currently six are from outside the U.S.), the associate editor assigned to your manuscript could be geographically close to you or from the other side of the globe. After all, the defining aspect of the manuscripts we publish should be their outstanding science, not their country of origin. We do recognize that because Analytical Chemistry is published in English, this can be a barrier for authors from some countries. If you need assistance with English editing, the ACS offers several options through ACS ChemWorx, including both standard editing and enhanced editing services (although for a charge). Our editorial team is trying to learn more about other issues facing authors from around the world, so over the past 6 months we held Editorial Advisory Board/Features Panel meetings at the Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis, Analytica (Munich), and Pittcon (Chicago). Perhaps these are the three largest general analytical/instrumental analysis meetings held each year and they help to define our field. We welcomed the opportunity to receive feedback from members of the international analytical community. After attending these meetings, talking to a number of researchers, and listening to some outstanding scientific talks, I am convinced that Analytical Chemistry is having an impact around the globe! There is excitement about the growth of new subfields of measurement science and high energy from young researchers. While the globalization of the journal of Analytical Chemistry is a positive development, we acknowledge there may be areas in which we need to improve. So no matter where you are located or what your research field involves, if you have ideas for improving the journal, you are welcome to share them with me. © 2014 American Chemical Society
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Jonathan V. Sweedler AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
Published: May 6, 2014 4067
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac501381p | Anal. Chem. 2014, 86, 4067−4067
