The Publications Division of the American Chemical Society has released a new course, "ACS Author Lab," designed to help authors prepare and submit strong manuscripts, speeding up the publication process.
Created by editors from JACS Au, Chemistry of Materials, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering and ACS Applied Polymer Materials, along with ACS experts, the course consists of seven interactive modules, each taking 15-20 minutes to complete. Participants will learn how to select the right journal for their manuscript, how to craft a strong title and abstract, strategies for effectively describing their research, what visual elements to use in their manuscript and more.
"One of the best things about this course is that it has an entire module devoted to ethics, an important but often overlooked topic," says Peter Licence, Ph.D., executive editor of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. "The course itself is designed to give authors an in-depth look at everything they need to know in order to submit a manuscript for publication, and includes invaluable information for authors at any point in their careers."
In addition to tools to improve the manuscript itself, authors will receive guidance on technical topics, including licenses and permissions, a submission cover letter, and how to respond to feedback from reviewers and editors. The course complements the ACS Reviewer Lab and ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication, bringing more transparency and simplicity to the publication process.
"We are constantly looking for new ways to better serve our authors, and ACS Author Lab is an effective means to provide researchers with the tools they need," says James Milne, Ph.D., president, ACS Publications Division. "I am confident that authors who take this course will find the information enlightening and useful as they work to share their research with the global chemistry community."
ACS Author Lab is available now through the course's website, and ACS is releasing one module free to all. Over the course of 2021, subscribers to the recently launched ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication will have the opportunity to access ACS Author Lab at no additional fee. Graduates of the course will receive a certificate of completion that can be shared with their networks.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder® and STN®), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
