ACS Publications is more than just a publisher. It supports the chemistry community in a variety of ways, including developing educational programs, holding outreach events to help researchers achieve their career and publishing goals, providing research funding, and collaborating with other organizations.

What is ACS Reviewer Lab and Why Was It Created?

Peer review is critical to the advancement of science, but few researchers receive formalized education to sharpen their reviewing skills. A recent survey reported that as many as 77% of researchers desire further training. This statistic is astonishing, considering another study found more than 22 million hours were spent reviewing manuscripts with the top 12 producing publishers.[i]

ACS Reviewer Lab provides the education that researchers want. This detailed course—designed by ACS editors, leading scientific researchers, and ACS Publications staff—takes users through the peer review process while providing discerning examples along the way. Each module is accompanied by exercises to test skill and knowledge. A certificate is awarded when the user completes the course

During the course, you will gain insight into peer review, learn how to navigate ethical situations, and identify personal biases and conflicts of interests that might interfere with your ability to conduct a fair review. The course walks you through the process of evaluating the potential impact, technical merit, and presentation of a manuscript, as well as the best ways to organize and present your thoughts on the work. With this level of insight, top publishing authors have suggested that ACS Reviewer Lab may also serve as a valuable training tool for anyone looking to publish.

Learn more about ACS Reviewer Lab or sign up for the free self-paced course.

How Does ACS on Campus Educate Students and Faculty?

ACS partners with the host institutions to design a program tailored to their research interests and professional development needs with no cost to the host. Every ACS on Campus event is unique. The programs range from two-hour sessions to full day events, taking into consideration the demographics and size of the audience. The events include the best ACS journal editors and local speakers to deliver programming exclusively tailored to the audience. Sessions are a mixture of lectures, panel discussions, and demonstrations, all guaranteed to be interactive and engaging. After an ACS on Campus event, students and faculty leave feeling confident in their science and empowered to contribute to the larger community.

ACS on Campus now has programming exclusively for librarians and library school students. At ACS on Campus for Librarians, you’ll learn about the latest initiatives from ACS, discuss important topics such as open access, current challenges in librarianship, and networking with other librarians.

Even if there isn’t an ACS on Campus event near you, resources are available on the website to help users every step of the way—from students to career chemists.

Find out more about ACS on Campus.

What are Some of ACS Publications’ Important Collaborations?

ACS Publications is at the leading edge of scientific publishing, and collaborating with peers is an important part of that. ChemRxiv—the world’s first chemistry preprint server—is managed by ACS, powered by Figshare, and created in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry, German Chemical Society, and other publishers and not-for-profit organizations. Chemical Abstracts Service and Google Scholar index research posted on ChemRxiv, and each article gets a DOI for easy citing.

Discover more features of ChemRxiv.

In 2015, ACS Publications partnered with Figshare to allow open access to research data alongside articles.[ii] This partnership promotes data discovery by allowing researchers to post supporting information and datasets freely. Available media includes .cif crystallographic files, video files, and ACS LiveSlides presentations. Discoverability was also enhanced by our 2016 partnership with ORCiD, allowing easier tracking of individual researchers and their work across publishers.

Our partnership with Altmetric was put into action in 2016 with the launch of metrics displays in the side panel of every journal article, allowing researchers and readers to track the popularity of individual articles via page views and social media posts.

Does ACS Publications Provide Funding for Research?

ACS as an organization is committed to supporting research in many ways, including programs sponsored by the Publications Division, policy advocacy, and direct funding.[iii] Funding is available through various ACS technical divisions and institutes, including the Green Chemistry Institute. More information about international funding is also available with easy searching by country or experience level. ACS also provides funding for research through various other agencies.[iv]

ACS also promote educating the next generation with funding from several sources. Project SEED offers bright, economically disadvantaged high school students an opportunity to spend a summer conducting chemical laboratory research with the guidance of a chemical scientist. The ACS Scholars Program provides underrepresented minority undergraduates with the scholarship and mentoring support they need to earn degrees in the chemical sciences. Advancing Chemistry Teaching supports the professional development of science teachers so they can better present chemistry in the classroom and foster the scientific curiosity of our nation’s youth.

Want to Learn More About the Publication Process?

Order our free educational poster series, and ACS will ship you a set of four posters for your library, or you can download them to print in a size that fits your needs. The topics include peer review, technical editing and layout, free ACS programs and training for students and researchers, and the benefits ACS offers to authors.

[i] Rewarding reviewers – sense or sensibility? A Wiley study explained. Learned Publishing; 2016, 29, 41-50.

[ii] Hahnel, M. New partnership with ACS Publications to Promote Open Data Discovery and Use. [Online only], May 11, 2015. https://figshare.com/blog/New_partnership_with_ACS_Publications_to_Promote_Open_Data_Discovery_and_Use/167 (accessed April 17, 2018)

[iii] Learn more about ACS’ goals and commitments to the chemical enterprise at https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/policy/publicpolicies/sustainability/chemicalenterprise.html.

[iv] ACS also administers the endowed Petroleum Research Fund.