2004 : A year of growth and development

2004 brings with it a number of changes for Chemical Society Reviews (CSR), both in terms of size and content. In 1992 the journal expanded from 4 issues per year (a legacy of its predecessor: Quarterly Reviews) and grew in impact over the subsequent years to stake its place in the top three most highly cited general chemistry journals—a position it has held for the past 4 years. Now, as the journal enters its 33^rd year, the time has come to expand again, this time to 9 issues.

This increase means that the journal will be hitting your desktops with greater frequency and higher impact than ever before. The additional pages give us the freedom to continue our expansion of scope into the broader areas of chemical science, while retaining those core areas of interest. In this issue alone you will find coverage of fundamental organic synthesis as well as articles describing chemistry at the interfaces with materials science, physics, biology and medicine, and a review discussing the application of chemistry to a problem of social interest: the detection of drug use in sport.

New critical reviews

As well as growing in size, we are expanding the kind of article published in CSR. Traditionally, CSR has published a single article type which we are re-branding as a tutorial review. The raison d’être of CSR is to bring the latest advances in the chemical sciences to specialist and non-specialist readers alike. A tutorial review provides an easy-to-read introduction to a topic of current interest in the chemical sciences and a springboard to further reading in the field. In other words, it should be the review that you would give to final year undergraduates or to your new graduate students to introduce them to the area. Tutorial reviews will continue to form the backbone of the journal and to define its distinctive reputation for accessibility. A forthcoming Guest Editorial will discuss how such reviews can be used for teaching purposes.

As the RSC’s premier review journal, CSR begins in this issue to publish longer articles that take a deeper critical look at selected topics in the chemical sciences. These will not be exhaustively comprehensive; rather they will give a selective and discursive, yet balanced view of the topic in hand with greater depth and detail than the tutorial reviews They will be termed critical reviews and the definition of each review type is set out in the box below.

Tutorial reviews are written to be of relevance both to the general research chemist who is new to the field, as well as the expert, and are accessible to advanced undergraduates and beyond. They provide an essential introduction to the field, serving as a springboard to further reading, and should have particular appeal to younger researchers seeking new fields to explore. Authors are required to write succinctly and select references carefully in order to give an enticing flavour of the topic rather than a comprehensive treatise. The implications of recent developments for the wider scientific community are emphasised.

Critical reviews provide a deeper understanding of the topic in hand, yet retain their accessibility through an introduction written for the general reader. They give a critical discussion of the existing state of knowledge of the subject matter, and while not exhaustive in coverage give a balanced assessment of the current primary literature, normally concentrating on the past 5–10 years. As for tutorial reviews, the implications of recent developments for the wider scientific community are emphasised.

RSC archive online

Many of us refer to key CSR articles time and time again, and recall others that we found particularly informative or inspirational. The content of all RSC journals, dating back to 1841, has now been digitised and is available online as a fully searchable archive. This amounts to some 1.2 million pages and 200,000 articles, including CSR back to 1972 and its predecessor, Quarterly Reviews. A range of purchase options and delivery methods are available—www.rsc.org/archive has all the details.

Chemical Science supplement

2004 also sees the launch of an exciting new RSC venture, Chemical Science, which draws together the news and research highlights from all RSC publications. It will provide a ‘snapshot’ of the latest developments across the chemical sciences, including highlights from CSR, bringing a selection of our articles to the attention of an even wider audience. Chemical Science will appear monthly as a free supplement in the front of the core primary journals of the RSC, and will also be available on-line, at www.rsc.org/chemicalscience

Thanks and welcome

It goes without saying that CSR cannot prosper without the input of an active and supportive Editorial Board who commission much of the content. This year we bid farewell to Chris Elschenbroich who has given seven years sterling service and commissioned numerous top quality reviews. In his place, we welcome Fabio Biscarini (Bologna) who will carry the torch for important areas of materials and physical chemistry, namely scanning probe microscopy and nanolithography applied to molecular materials, thin films and magnetic films.

Looking ahead, we shall also be publishing small clusters of themed reviews during the year, including issues devoted to recent advances in crystallography and the chemistry of functional polymers. In the spirit of CSR, each review will seek to give a balanced opinion and accurately inform the reader, and each issue will seek to illustrate the variety of exciting research in these fields.

As always, comments and suggestions for coverage from you, the readers, are welcomed for consideration by the Editorial Board. We wish you a happy and successful 2004.

David Parker (Chair)

Clare Bostock-Smith (Managing Editor)

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