Dalton Transactions

4.0 Administration

Receipt of a contribution for consideration will be acknowledged immediately by the Editorial Office, by e-mail if an address is supplied. The acknowledgement will indicate the paper reference number assigned to the contribution. Authors are particularly asked to quote this number on all subsequent correspondence. Papers that are accepted must not be published elsewhere except by permission of the RSC. Submission of a manuscript will be regarded as an undertaking that the same material is not being considered for publication by another journal. Conditions governing acceptance are available from the Editorial Office.

Every paper deemed suitable for consideration as a submission will be assessed by at least two independent referees, whose names are not disclosed to the authors. RSC policy on the initial assessment of submissions, and details of criteria for publication, can be found on ReSourCe. On the basis of the referees' reports, the Editor decides whether the paper is suitable for publication, either unchanged or after appropriate revision. Where appropriate, members of the Editorial Board may view the referees' reports. This decision and relevant comments of the referees are communicated to the author. Differences of opinion are mediated by the Editor, possibly after consultation with further referees, or, in the last resort, by the Editorial Board.

When rejection of a paper is recommended, the Editor will inform the author. Authors have the right to appeal to the Editorial Board if they regard a decision to reject as unfair.

Acceptance of a paper is confirmed when a manuscript is passed for editing. The author then receives a PDF proof for checking. The Society supplies a PDF reprint file.

Checking of proofs is the authors' responsibility. Particular attention should be paid to numerical data both in tables and in the text, references, structural formulae and diagrams.

An author may be required to pay the cost of any extensive changes made at the proof stage (other than the correction of printer's errors). So far as possible, essential changes should be made without altering the length of the text, or at the end of a paragraph. The standard signs for proof correction set out in British Standard BS 5261: Part 2 (1976) may be used: these are conveniently summarized in the pamphlet Authors' alterations cost money and cause delay... which can be purchased from the British Printing Industries Federation (11 Bedford Row, London, UK WC1R 4DX). However, the author may prefer simply to put a line through the incorrect characters and write the correct version in the margin. Corrections should be made in ink, clearly and without ambiguity, and any queries from the editorial staff on the query sheet should be answered fully.