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Analytical Methods is a Transformative Journal and Plan S compliant

Impact factor: 2.7*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 11.0 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 30.0 days***

Editor-in-Chief: B. Jill Venton

Indexed in MEDLINE

Open access publishing options available

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Meet the team

Journal scope

Analytical Methods welcomes early applications of new analytical and bioanalytical methods and technology demonstrating the potential for societal impact.

We require that methods and technology reported in the journal are sufficiently innovative, robust, accurate, and compared to other available methods for the intended application. Developments with interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome. Systems should be proven with suitably complex and analytically challenging samples.

We encourage developments within, but not limited to, the following technologies and applications:

  • global health, point-of-care and molecular diagnostics
  • biosensors and bioengineering
  • drug development and pharmaceutical analysis
  • applied microfluidics and nanotechnology
  • omics studies, such as proteomics, metabolomics or glycomics
  • environmental, agricultural and food science
  • neuroscience
  • biochemical and clinical analysis
  • forensic analysis
  • industrial process and method development

Meet the editorial team

Find out who is on the editorial and advisory boards for the Analytical Methods journal.

Article types

Analytical Methods publishes:

  • Communications
  • Full papers
  • Technical notes
  • Critical reviews
  • Minireviews
  • Tutorial reviews
  • Comments
See more information about these article types

Communications

These must report preliminary research findings that are highly original, of immediate interest and are likely to have a high impact. Communications are given priority treatment, are fast-tracked through the publication process and appear prominently at the front of the journal.

The key aim of Communications is to present innovative concepts with important analytical implications. As such, Communications need only demonstrate 'proof of principle': it is not expected that the analytical figures of merit will necessarily surpass those of existing, highly refined analytical techniques.

At the time of submission, authors should also provide a justification for urgent publication as a Communication. Ideally, a Full paper should follow each Communication in an appropriate primary journal.

There is no page limit for communications in Analytical Methods, however the length should be commensurate with scientific content. Authors are encouraged to make full use of electronic supplementary information (ESI) in order to present more concise articles.

Full papers

These must describe science that will be of benefit to the community in the particular field of analysis and are judged according to originality, quality of scientific content and contribution to existing knowledge.

Although there is no page limit for Full papers, appropriateness of length to content of new science will be taken into consideration.

Technical notes

These should be brief descriptions of developments, techniques or applications that offer definite advantages over those already available. Technical notes should offer practical solutions to problems that are of interest to the readership and merit publication, but where a Full paper is not justified.

Technical notes should be as brief as possible; wherever appropriate authors should use references to the established technique, explaining in full only what is novel about the proposed approach.

Critical reviews

Critical reviews are definitive, comprehensive reviews but must also provide a critical evaluation of the chosen topic area. Authors should try to be selective in the choice of material, whilst still aim to cover all the important work in the field, also indicating possible future developments.

Minireviews

Minireviews are highlights or summaries of research in an emerging area of analytical science covering approximately the last two-three years. Given topics should review work no more than approximately 36 months old, and articles should cover only the most interesting/significant developments in that specific subject area.

The articles should be highly critical and selective in referencing published work. A small amount of speculation (one or two paragraphs) of possible future developments may also be appropriate in the Conclusions section.

Tutorial reviews

Written from a personal point of view, these ideally should be the first review of a new significant area, bringing together the results of various primary publications.

Tutorial reviews are intended to interest a large number of readers and should be written at a level that could be understood by an advanced undergraduate student.

The intention is to increase awareness and understanding of the chosen topic area for workers/researchers already involved in the field, workers changing the direction/emphasis of their work and a broad based non-specialist (graduate and post-graduate) audience, with a view to informing them of the most recent developments in the area.

Potential writers should contact the editorial office before embarking on their work.

Comments

Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in Analytical Methods.

For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication. 

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

Journal specific guidelines

The following guidelines are journal specific. For general guidance on preparing an article please visit our Prepare your article and Resources for authors pages, the content of which is relevant to all of our journals.

On submission, authors are required to submit a short significance statement for their manuscript. This statement should address the technological advance and/or significance of the methods and applications in the presented work (1–2 sentences maximum). This information will help the Editor and reviewers assess the article.

How do Analyst and Analytical Methods compare?
From discovery to recovery – Analyst and Analytical Methods working together for the analytical community
Analyst, 2011, 136, 429
DOI: 10.1039/c0an90013c

Open access publishing options

Analytical Methods is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or instead by choosing our gold open access option. Find out more about our Transformative Journals. which are Plan S compliant.

Gold open access

For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, Analytical Methods charges an article processing charge (APC) of £3,000 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted for publication.

Learn more about publishing open access.

Read & Publish

If your institution has a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry, APCs for gold open access publishing in Analytical Methods may already be covered.

Check if your institution is already part of our Read & Publish community.

Please use your official institutional email address to submit your manuscript; this helps us to identify if you are eligible for Read & Publish or other APC discounts.

Traditional subscription model

Authors can also publish in Analytical Methods via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC. Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.

Learn more about green open access.

Peer review

Analytical Methods follows a single-anonymised peer review process and articles are typically sent to at least two independent reviewers for evaluation. A dynamic and high-quality team of associate editors is responsible for peer review and associated editorial decisions. Authors may choose their preferred choice of associate editor upon submission.

Please note that it may not always be possible for the author's first choice associate editor to be selected. In situations where this is not possible the editorial office will assign the most suitable alternative.

On submission to the journal, all manuscripts are assigned to an external (academic) Associate Editor. Each submission is assessed for quality, scope, and impact. Those that do not meet the criteria based on these factors are rejected without further peer review. Otherwise, the article is sent to at least two external reviewers with expertise in the article topic for confidential review. An editorial decision to reject or accept the article is made on these reports.

More reviewers may be consulted in cases of opposing reports or when more clarification is needed. Articles needing significant revisions may be sent for further peer review before acceptance. Authors may appeal a rejection via communication with the Associate Editor. Our processes and policies can provide full details of the initial assessment process.

Readership information

Readership is cross-disciplinary and Analytical Methods appeals to readers across academia and industry, who have an interest in the advancement of measurement science and the breadth of application of analytical and bioanalytical methodologies.

These include, but are not restricted to, analytical and environmental scientists; biochemists and biotechnologists; process and industrial scientists; biomedical and clinical scientists; forensic and heritage scientists; agriculture, food, safety and product technologists; pharmaceutical scientists and toxicologists.

Subscription information

Analytical Methods is part of RSC Gold and Analytical Science subscription packages.

Online only 2025: ISSN 1759-9679 £2,633 / $4,638

*2023 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2024)

**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year

***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year

Journals, books & databases

Contact us

Pre-submission queries please contact Philippa Ross, Executive Editor
Email:
Send us an email

Post-submission queries please contact Rebecca Garton, Editorial Manager
Email:
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