Editorial. Fragmentation of Publications - ACS Publications - American

John K Crum. Director. Ruth Reynard Assistant to the Director. Charles R. Bertsch Head,Editorial. Processing Department. D. H. Michael Bowen Head# Jou...
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analytical chemistry September 1973, Vol. 45, No. 11 Editor: HERBERT A. LAITINEN

EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS 1165 S i t h St N.W. Washinfin, D.C:'20036 Phone, 202-872-4600 Teletype: 710-8220151 Managing Editor: Virginia E. Stewart Associate Editors: Josephine M. Petruzzi Alan J. Senzel Assistant Editor: Andrew A. Husovsky PRODUCTIONSTAFF Art Director: Norman W. Favin Aesooiate Production Managers: Leroy L. corcoran Charlotte C. Sayre Editorial Assistant: Nancy J. Oddenino EDITOBUL PROCESSINQ DEPARTA~ENT, EASTON,PA. Assistant Editor: Elizabeth R. Rufe

ADVISORY BOARD:Allen J. Bard Fred Baumann, David F. Boltz, C. G: Enke, Henry M. Fales, Kenneth W. Gpdiner Jack M. Gill. Jeanette G. Graaselli. Theol dore Kuwana. Oscar Menis. Wa'am C. Purdy Eugene M. Wee Donald T. Sawyer, d o y d R. Snyder, H n h d F. Walton

INLlTRUYENTATION

ADVISORY

PANEL:

Jonathan W. Amy Richard A Du& J. J. Kirkland, C&ea E. Kiopfe&i, Ronald H. Laesa' Marvin Margoshes' l 3 a r i Pardue, ~ ~ ~ &ward J. Sloane, Ralpi

Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 1155 16th Street,N. W. Washington, D.C. 20036

Booke a n d Journals Division John K Crum Director Ruth Reynard Assistant t o t h e Director

Charles R. Bertsch Head. Editorial Pmceclaing Department D. H. Michael Bowen Head, Journds Department B a d Guile Head, Graphics a n d Productfon Department Seldon W. Terrant Head, Research and Development Department

Fragmentation of Publications In general, it is the prerogative of the author to decide how much material to present in a single publication. There are, of course, many short pieces of research that logically need presentation as such because they stand alone and do not constitute a part of a larger study. Competition in active research fields is a strong and often legitimate driving force toward fragmented publication. It is, however, symptomatic of today's intense pressures for an impressive publication list that some authors, especially during the early years of their research careers, fragment their work unnecessarily, even to the point of overlapping or duplicate publications. As far as editorial policy is concerned, we strive for a single standard of quality without attempting to judge the motivation for shorter articles. The shorter articles are, in general, less efficient in the utilization of space than longer ones because of the greater fraction of introductory and summarizing material. To compensate, at least in part, for this lesser efficiency, we classify the shorter articles as Notes or Aids and eliminate the abstract. Some authors feel that their work is somehow downgraded by being placed in the category of notes rather than papers. They point out apparent inconsistencies in editorial policy by finding occasional notes that exceed papers in length. Perhaps a more functional definition of a note than one based solely on length is that it is an article that suffers minimally by the omission of an abstract, because of its length, nature, or content. If an author wishes to ensure that his publications appear as papers, he can do so by including enough substance to bring it logically into that category.

Aduertising Management

CENTCOM, LTD. (for Branch Offices, see page 945A)

For submission of manuscripts, see page 850A

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 45, NO. 11, SEPTEMBER 1973

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