Refereeing Procedure and Policy

4.0 Policy

The primary criterion for acceptance of a contribution for publication is that it must report high-quality new chemical science and make a significant contribution to its field. Papers that do not contain new experimental results may be considered for publication only if they either reinterpret or summarise known facts or results in a manner presenting an advance in chemical knowledge. Papers in interdisciplinary areas are acceptable if the chemical content is considered satisfactory.

Papers reporting results regarded as routine or trivial are not acceptable in the absence of other, desirable attributes.

Although short papers are acceptable, the Society strongly discourages the fragmentation of a substantial body of work into a number of short publications; such fragmentation is likely to be grounds for rejection.

The length of an article should be commensurate with its scientific content; however, authors are allowed latitude (consistent with reasonable brevity) in the form in which their work is presented. Figures and flow-charts can often save space as well as clarify complicated arguments. Certain length restrictions apply to some Communications (see Section 9.0, Communications).

If a paper as a whole is judged suitable for the Journal, minor criticisms should not be unduly emphasised. It is the responsibility of the Editor to ensure the use of reasonably brief phraseology, and to assist the author to present his/her work in the most appropriate format. However, referees should not hesitate to recommend rejection of papers which appear incurably badly composed.

It should be clearly understood that referees' reports are made in confidence to the Editor, at whose discretion comments will be transmitted to the author. To assist the Editor, referees are requested to indicate which comments are designed only for consideration, as distinct from those which, in the referee's view, require specific action or an adequate answer before the paper is accepted.

Referees may ask for sight of supporting data not submitted for publication, or for sight of a previous paper which has been submitted but not yet published. Such requests must be made to the Editor, not directly to the author.

See also the RSC's 'Ethical Guidelines for Publication in Journals and Reviews'.

4.1 Authentication of New Compounds

Referees are asked to assess, as a whole, the evidence in support of the homogeneity and structure of all new compounds. No hard and fast rules can be laid down to cover all types of compounds, but the Society's policy is that evidence for the unequivocal identification of new compounds should wherever possible include good elemental analytical data; for example, an accurate mass measurement of a molecular ion does not provide evidence of purity of a compound and must be accompanied by independent evidence of homogeneity (e.g. HPLC). Low resolution mass spectrometry must be treated with even more reserve in the absence of firm evidence to distinguish between alternative molecular formulae. Where elemental analytical data cannot be obtained, appropriate evidence which is convincing to an expert in the field may be acceptable.

Spectroscopic information necessary to the assignment of structure should normally be given. Just how complete this information should be must depend upon the circumstances; the structure of a compound obtained from an unusual reaction or isolated from a natural source needs much stronger supporting evidence than one derived by a standard reaction from a precursor of undisputed structure.

Referees are reminded of the need to be exacting in their standards but at the same time flexible in their admission of evidence. It remains the Society's policy to accept work only of high quality and to permit no lowering of standards.

4.2 Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI)

Referees are encouraged to suggest that appropriate material is placed with the RSC's Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI) Service rather than the printed journal. Any supporting material for the ESI service supplied upon submission should be refereed to the same standard as the article.

4.3 Use of Colour

The use of colour and/or half-tones is permitted in cases where genuine clarification results; referees may also be asked to advise on this [Electronic-only journals have different guidelines concerning the use of colour (see Section 10.0, Electronic-only journals)].

4.4 Titles and Summaries

Referees should comment on titles and summaries with the following points in mind.

Titles of papers are used out of context by several organizations for current awareness purposes. To enable such systems to serve chemical scientists adequately, titles must be written around a sufficient number of scientific words carefully chosen to cover the important aspects of the paper.

Summaries should preferably be self-contained, so that they can be understood without reference to the main text.