The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B and C announce a new manuscript type, Tutorials. Submit your Tutorial on an important technique or methodology in experimental or theoretical physical chemistry today.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B and C have introduced Tutorials as an official manuscript type for publication. Supporting the journals’ strong community focus, these Tutorials aid students, researchers, and practitioners in learning new techniques and methods in physical chemistry. Experimental and theoretical tutorials spanning the breadth of physical chemistry are encouraged.
Here are a few examples of high-quality tutorials in The Journal of Physical Chemistry:
- Introduction to Relativistic Electronic Structure Calculations
- Introductory Tutorials for Simulating Protein Dynamics with GROMACS
- The CP2K Program Package Made Simple
Tutorial Evaluation Criteria
Tutorials are assessed using the following criteria during the editorial and peer review process:
A. Pedagogical clarity
Does the tutorial tell a self-contained, coherent story that enables readers to learn and reproduce the approach? Are the concepts explained clearly, with sufficient context and intuition for the intended audience? Are figures, schematics, and examples used effectively to illustrate the key ideas?
B. Reproducibility and practical guidance
Does the tutorial provide step-by-step instructions? If computational in nature, are key command lines, scripts, or relevant code snippets included? If experimental in nature, are the instrument specifications or data analysis tools provided? Are necessary parameters, inputs, and workflows described in sufficient detail for others to reproduce the results? Is the accompanying Supporting Information complete, well-organized, and accessible?
C. Scope and accessibility
Is the topic broadly relevant to the physical chemistry community? Is the tutorial pitched at an appropriate level of difficulty (not too superficial for experts, but not inaccessible for grad students or newcomers to the field of interest)? Does it explain how the method fits into the broader landscape of techniques—i.e., when and why to use it? Does it fill a gap not already addressed by existing tutorials?
D. Scientific soundness and rigor
Are the underlying foundations and equations presented correctly and consistently? Is the implementation technically sound and free of major errors or misleading simplifications? Are limitations of the technique discussed? Does the tutorial demonstrate the method on meaningful examples that validate its performance?
E. Originality and added value
While not expected to report new discoveries, does the tutorial provide original pedagogical value? Does it fill a clear gap in the current literature? For example, it may integrate scattered knowledge, offer new insights into the implementation, or present an underappreciated, albeit powerful method in an accessible way.
F. Presentation and organization
Is the manuscript well-structured, readable, and logically organized? Are all the acronyms, terms, and assumptions defined? Does the writing maintain a consistent tone suited to instructional content, that is engaging, but precise?
Submission Information
For more information on submission requirements, please visit the journals’ Author Guidelines page.
Tutorials accepted for publication will be available ASAP (as soon as publishable) online. They will then be published in the next available issue of the submitted journal. Manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo the full rigorous peer review process expected from ACS journals.
Open Access: There are diverse open access options for publications in American Chemical Society journals. Please visit our Open Science Resource Center for more information.
Learn More About the Journals:
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A
The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
How to Submit
- Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
- Select the "Journals" tab.
- Choose The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B or C.
- Click "Submit."
- Select Tutorials as the manuscript type.
If you have any general questions regarding submission of this article type, please contact eic@jpc.acs.org.
