ACS: New Videos on Publishing Peer-Reviewed Research

[Jonathan Morgan <j_morgan@acs.org>]

~~Please excuse cross-posting~~

ACS ANNOUNCES NEW SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS ON THE PUBLICATION 
OF PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2011  The Publications Division of the 
American Chemical Society (ACS) today announced the launch of 
Publishing Your Research 101, a new educational, web-based video 
series designed to support authors and reviewers with the process 
of writing, submitting, reviewing, and editing reports of 
original scientific research intended for publication in 
peer-reviewed journals.

The video series, freely available from ACS Publications 
(http://pubs.acs.org/r/publishing101) covers topics such as the 
essential elements of a scientific journal article, ethical 
guidelines for authors and reviewers, criteria to consider when 
selecting a suitable journal for submission, writing a good cover 
letter, suggesting peer reviewers, responding to reviewer 
comments and editorial decisions, and guidance for authors who 
may need assistance with English language writing skills. New 
videos will be released on a monthly basis throughout 2011.

Publishing Your Research 101 features interviews with prominent 
authors and Editors of ACS journals about all aspects of the 
publication process. They provide their unique points of view 
from their own experiences with ACS journals and offer practical 
advice for publishing peer-reviewed research intended for 
interdisciplinary scientific audiences, such as chemistry, 
biology, medicine, physics, and engineering.

ACS is the world's largest scientific society and currently 
publishes journals that are widely known for their editorial 
rigor and highly regarded as the most-trusted, most-cited, and 
most-read publications in chemistry. ACS Publications created the 
video series in response to encouragement received from students 
and faculty, including interactive discussion forums held at ACS 
National Meetings and ACS On Campus university visits. Scientists 
in various stages of their careers have affirmed their interest 
in learning how to improve their written contributions as part of 
their efforts to communicate broadly the significance of their 
discoveries by publication in ACS journals.

"The Publishing Your Research 101 video series is provided to 
help cultivate the chemists of tomorrow by fostering their growth 
as researchers, authors, and reviewers," said Susan King, Ph.D., 
Senior Vice President, Journals Publishing Group, at ACS 
Publications. "The effective communication of peer-reviewed 
scientific research is vital to both the scientific community and 
to every scientist's chosen career path. This video series 
leverages the accumulated experiences of the authors and Editors 
of the most-cited journals in chemistry, serving as a guide to 
researchers to aid them in navigating the publication of an 
original research article. ACS Editors provide a valuable 
perspective into the publication of peer-reviewed research, 
providing both an editorial perspective, and the perspective of 
independent, actively publishing researchers."

The first video of the series features an interview with George 
M. Whitesides, Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University 
Professor at Harvard University, whose impressive publishing 
record includes more than 1000 peer-reviewed articles in the 
scientific literature, with nearly 600 studies published within 
17 different ACS journals. Professor Whitesides has served on the 
editorial boards of numerous peer-reviewed journals. He and his 
collaborators have made significant contributions to the fields 
of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, organic synthesis, 
materials and surface science, microfluidics, and nanotechnology.

Entitled "How to Write a Paper to Communicate your Research," the 
first video addresses the following questions:

- When should you begin writing your manuscript during the 
research process?
- How do you typically approach the manuscript writing process?
- How do new technologies help scientists communicate their work?
- How many drafts does each manuscript undergo? Should 
manuscripts undergo an internal review?
- Should authors actively market their articles?
- How much attention should you pay to the creation of the title 
and the abstract for new manuscripts?

The inaugural video, along with links to additional resources, 
can be viewed at http://pubs.acs.org/r/publishing101.

The second video in the series, entitled "Writing Your Cover 
Letter," will be available online in June, 2011 and will identify 
topics to be discussed in an accompanying cover letter when 
submitting an original research manuscript for consideration -- 
such as how best to communicate the significance of the research 
to the field, and how the subject of the research study fits with 
the scope of the journal and its audience of readers. It will 
feature interviews with ACS Editors-in-Chief Professor Richard 
Eisenberg (Inorganic Chemistry) and Professor Timothy P. Lodge 
(Macromolecules), and ACS Nano Associate Editors Professor Paula 
T. Hammond and Associate Professor Jason H. Hafner.

Questions? Please email s_rouhi@acs.org

Sara Rouhi
Associate Manager, Library Relations | ACS Publications
1155 16th St., NW | Washington | DC 20036
http://pubs.acs.org/4librarians