Review some of the Guide's most recent updates, and learn how to access the full Guide to take your scholarly communication skills even further.
In the dynamic world of scientific research, the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication is an indispensable reference tool for ensuring clarity and impact in your work. To keep pace with the ever-evolving nature of scholarly communication, the ACS Guide undergoes continuous review and updates, driven by experts across diverse fields.
We have gathered some of the most recent updates to the ACS Guide to help you stay on top of the latest guidance and best practices on topics such as preprints, references, and safety information. To take your communication skills even further, read on to learn how you can access the full ACS Guide and start communicating your research like a true professional.
In This Article:
November 2024 Updates
April 2025 Updates
How to Access the Full ACS Guide
November 2024 Updates
1.6 Chemistry Preprints (original chapter published January 2020)
Preprints, scholarly manuscripts shared publicly before formal peer review and journal publication, are gaining widespread adoption for their substantial benefits, such as faster dissemination of research and early feedback, to both authors and readers. The November 2024 updates to the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication address the evolving role of preprints, covering topics including:
- ChemRxiv statistics and growth
- Top preprint benefits
- Select preprint server table
- New coverage on preprint concerns, perceived and real
- New coverage on manuscript types found in preprints
April 2025 Updates
4.3 References (original chapter published January 2020, updated March 2022)
The ACS Guide's References section offers guidance and examples for citing a wide range of works. To help authors easily reference diverse research formats, the spring 2025 updates include:
- Expanded ACS Style Quick Guide (Open Access)
- Added twice the number of examples.
- Added new citations covering artificial intelligence/generative AI, datasets, software and program code, and social media.
- Updated citations: large language models and generative AI chatbots
- Citing Large Language Models and Generative AI Chatbots section now a part of 4.3.6. ACS Policy regarding transparency, authorship, graphics, journal cover art, and Table of Contents graphics now included.
- The timely section also covers how to write about AI in scholarly research, with examples of citing it in methods, acknowledgments, and supporting information with ten real-world examples.
- Simplified formatting guidelines to support students new to citations
- Article title capitalization rules are more relaxed.
- Journal titles names are allowed in full name or abbreviated format.
- Access dates for URL-based sources are no longer required.
- Patent number commas have been removed for consistency among patent offices.
- DOI hyperlinks are now required to improve efficiency.
- Clarification for Copyrighted Graphics & Tables Credits
- 4.3.2 on Captions and Credit Line for Graphics now clarifies attribution to help researchers distinguish the differences between public domain images, licensed content, and figures requiring permission.
1.3 Communicating Safety Information in Publications (original chapter published January 2020)
The section on communicating safety information in the ACS Guide outlines the history, rationale, and best practices for including safety details in your scientific research. The spring 2025 updates will address the following enhancements:
- Chapter streamlining
- Narrowed focus on safety guidelines in scientific publications, risk assessment using RAMP, and formulating safety summaries.
- This concise format enhances clarity and usability, making it easier for users to understand and efficiently apply essential safety practices.
- Enhanced hazard recognition and risk assessment
- Recognizing significant hazards coverage has been bolstered and updated.
- This ensures users are better equipped to identify and manage a broader range of hazards, improving overall safety in the lab.
- More real-world examples
- The updated and added examples help researchers and teachers efficiently implement safety summaries, leading to safer and more compliant workspaces.
How to Access the ACS Guide
The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication is a reference work available to academic, corporate, and government institutions by annual or multi-year subscription. If you don’t already have access, you can either recommend it to your librarian or inquire organizational access option by contacting the ACS Sales Team.