Around the World with Analytical Chemistry

Submissions to most scientific journals are becoming moreinternational, and this is certainly true for Analytical

Chemistry. We published more than 1500 articles in 2013, themost ever. At the same time, due to the increasing overallnumber of submissions from around the globe, AnalyticalChemistry editors became more selective when acceptingarticles.Last year we received similar numbers of manuscripts from

North America, Europe, and Asia, with China and the U.S. tiedfor the most submitted articles. What does the future hold?While we lack a crystal ball, we can look at authors submittingarticles for the first time as they represent the future of ourfield. We had the same number of articles submitted by newauthors from China and the U.S., and yet these two countiesrepresented less than half of our new authors. This suggeststhat our journal will continue to become more global.Analytical Chemistry handles articles differently from some

journals in that the country of origin does not impact thereview process. For example, if you submit an article on massspectrometry, it will be handled by an associate editor havingthe appropriate expertise, no matter where you are from orwhere the editor is located. Thus, while we have an increasinginternational pool of outstanding associate editors (currently sixare from outside the U.S.), the associate editor assigned to yourmanuscript could be geographically close to you or from theother side of the globe. After all, the defining aspect of themanuscripts we publish should be their outstanding science, nottheir country of origin.We do recognize that because Analytical Chemistry is

published in English, this can be a barrier for authors fromsome countries. If you need assistance with English editing, theACS offers several options through ACS ChemWorx, includingboth standard editing and enhanced editing services (althoughfor a charge).Our editorial team is trying to learn more about other issues

facing authors from around the world, so over the past 6months we held Editorial Advisory Board/Features Panelmeetings at the Beijing Conference and Exhibition onInstrumental Analysis, Analytica (Munich), and Pittcon(Chicago). Perhaps these are the three largest generalanalytical/instrumental analysis meetings held each year andthey help to define our field. We welcomed the opportunity toreceive feedback from members of the international analyticalcommunity. After attending these meetings, talking to anumber of researchers, and listening to some outstandingscientific talks, I am convinced that Analytical Chemistry ishaving an impact around the globe! There is excitement aboutthe growth of new subfields of measurement science and highenergy from young researchers.While the globalization of the journal of Analytical Chemistry

is a positive development, we acknowledge there may be areasin which we need to improve. So no matter where you arelocated or what your research field involves, if you have ideasfor improving the journal, you are welcome to share them withme.

Jonathan V. Sweedler

■ AUTHOR INFORMATIONNotesViews expressed in this editorial are those of the author and notnecessarily the views of the ACS.

Published: May 6, 2014

Editorial

pubs.acs.org/ac

© 2014 American Chemical Society 4067 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac501381p | Anal. Chem. 2014, 86, 4067−4067