EDITORIAL Editorial policy changes As announced in this space in the February 1980 issue, the editorial content of Enuironmental Science & Technology has been under study by the editorial staff, the editorial advisory board, and the publisher. Important changes have resulted from this study. First, it has been decided to open the journal to a broader range of environmental sciences, e.g., marine, atmospheric, and earth sciences, in addition to the scientific aspects of pollution and pollution control. Second, we will diversify the types of contributions our authors can make to the journal by adding critical reviews and scientific features. Central to the evaluation of all contributions is a commitment to provide the readers of E S & T with scientific information and critical judgments of the highest quality. For the convenience of authors, the specific nature of each type of contribution is outlined below.
Feature articles A manuscript submitted for publication as a feature article should present useful discussion and opinion on important research directions in environmental science, developing technology, environmental processes, and social, political, or economic aspects of environmental issues. Each manuscript will undergo review by qualified peers as well as by the editors to balance and eliminate inappropriate bias. Review criteria will include significance of the scientific issue or process described, quality and succinctness of the text, and identification of potential research needs. Strict requirements for documentation of results, completeness of data, and originality, such as those applicable to research manuscripts, will not be included in the review criteria for feature articles. Critical reviews Critical reviews are thoroughly documented, peer-reviewed assessments of selected areas of the environmental science research literature for the purpose of identifying critical research needs. Criteria for acceptability will include current importance of
the field under review, thoroughness of the literature coverage, clarity of text, and adequacy of research need identification. Research papers The research pages of E S h T are devoted to the publication of critically reviewed papers concerned with the fields of water, air, and waste chemistry, and with other scientific and technical fields that are relevant to the understanding and management of water, air, and land environments. Contributed research papers will, in general, describe complete and fully interpreted results of original research. All research articles emphasizing analytical methodology for air or water analysis must include substantial application to environmental samples. ES& T faces some overlap with other journals in this area, and articles that do not contain, in the editor’s judgment, a significant emphasis on environmental analysis will be returned to the authors for submission elsewhere. Manuscripts should be prepared with strict attention to brevity. The vast majority of articles are expected to be fewer than four published pages. Processing time will be shortened if the editors do not have to return manuscripts to be condensed. Notes and Correspondence, as well as full-length papers, will be published in the research section. Notes are shorter research reports describing preliminary results of unusual significance or studies of small scope. Authors of Notes should be able to justify why it is not desirable to wait for a more complete report to be published as a full-length paper. Correspondence contains significant comments on work published in the research section of E S & T. Comments should be received within six months of date of publication of the original article. The authors of the original article will ordinarily be allowed to reply.
Volume 14, Number 8,August 1980
887
