analytical chemistry March 1976, Vol. 48, No. 3
Editor: Herbert A. Laitinen EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS 1155 Sixteenth St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-872-4570 Teletype: 710-8220151 Managing Editor: Josephine M. Petruzzi Associate Editor: Andrew A. Husovsky Associate Editor, Easton: Elizabeth R. Rufe Assistant Editor: Nancy J. Oddenino Editorial Assistants: Barbara Cassatt, Deborah M. Cox Production Manager: Leroy L. Corcoran Associate Manager: Charlotte C. Sayre Artist: Diane Reich
Advisory Board: Donald H. Anderson, Edward G. Brame, Jr., Richard P. Buck, Warren B. Crummett, Merle A. Evenson, Velmer Fassel, A. F. Findeis, Robert A. Hofstader, Marjorie G. Horning, Richard S. Juvet, Jr.. Lynn L. Lewis, Harry B. Mark, Jr.. Walter C. McCrone. Eugene A. Sawicki, W. D. Shults Instrumentation Advisory Panel: Stanley R. Crouch, Nathan Gochman, Robert W. Hannah, Gary Horlick. James N. Little, Harold M. McNair, David Seligson, R . K. Skogerboe. Donald E. Smith Contributing Editor Claude A. Lucchesi Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60201 --
Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 1155 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036
Books and Journals Dlvlsion Director: D. H. Michael Bowen Editorial: Charles R . Bertsch Graphics and Production: Bacil Guiley Research and Development: Seldon W. Terrant Circulation Development: Marion Gurfein
Research and Development Inasmuch as ANALYTICALCHEMISTRY is a research publication, it is relevant to consider the question of the border line between research and development. As in science generally, the distinction is not clear-cut, especially if we admit that research itself can range from basic to applied. Nevertheless, there are distinctive qualities that characterize research which are lacking or subdued in development work. The primary quality in research is originality, either of concept, goal, or execution. T o do research in analytical chemistry does not necessarily require the establishment of a new principle or a new approach to identification or measurement. Research may involve investigation of properties or behavior of matter or gaining a basic understanding upon which analytical methods can be based. Research can be oriented towards theory or experiment or both. It can involve any or all of the steps in an analytical procedure, from sampling through preliminary treatment and separations to measurements and data handling. With this enormous latitude in the scope of research, how can we distinguish it from development? The situation is complicated by terms such as methods development or special problems, often used to describe activities intermediate between exploratory research and routine applications. Such activities may involve research, although probably only to a limited extent. Procedural improvements that might normally be introduced by a competent analyst would seldom constitute research. Optimization of experimental parameters in an analytical procedure would not usually represent research, but development. Looking a t journals of years gone by, will reveal many examples of this type of work in which one variable after another is systematically “optimized”, keeping all others constant. The modern approach would more likely involve an experimental design that would yield the final result more efficiently. Yet the distinction is not so much in the end result as in the objective. If generalized understanding is the goal, and the results can be applied to a variety of applications, then the work could be characterized as research, whereas optimization for a specific application would more likely be classified as development.
Manuscript requirements are published in the December 1975 issue, Page 2525. Manuscripts for publication ( 4 copies) should be submitted to ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY at the ACS Washington address. The American Chemical Society and its editors assume no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by contributors. Views expressed in the editorials are those of the editors and do not necessarily represent the official pdsition of the American Chemical Society. Advertising Management: Centcom, Ltd. ,(for Branch Offices, see page 316 A)
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