New initiatives—a new format for rapid publication

New initiatives—a new format for rapid publication

Environmental Pollution 114 (2001) 1 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol Editorial New initiatives—a new format for rapid publication To facilitate the p...

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Environmental Pollution 114 (2001) 1 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol

Editorial

New initiatives—a new format for rapid publication To facilitate the publication of new findings more rapidly, Environmental Pollution has decided to offer authors a new form of research article — New Initiatives. This new article type is a brief report of three pages maximum that provides rapid publication of significant early results from ongoing innovative research projects. Hitherto, almost all the papers published in the journal have been full length traditional research papers that report and summarise the results of completed research projects. This is the usual way in which new knowledge becomes part of scientific literature. While it is essential for this traditional approach to endure, we also recognise that additional, less traditional opportunities are needed to disseminate new findings in a more concise and rapid manner. A variety of factors, such as advances in automation, communication and technology, and increased competition for research funds, have accelerated the pace of research and the need to communicate new findings during, and not just at the end, of research projects. The accelerated pace of research can result in more rapid identification of significant early results, often after only a few key experiments. Publication of significant new findings — in the New Initiatives format — will provide fresh insights and suggest new directions in research. Stimulation of discussion among researchers is encouraged through participation in the Letters to the Editor section.

Manuscripts for New Initiatives should include a brief introduction, materials and methods section, discussion of results and speculation about their meaning and implications. No more than 10 references and 1–3 figures and/or tables will be allowed. A New Initiatives manuscript will receive one review by a member of the Editorial Board and will be published as soon as possible after any necessary revisions have been made. Authors should contact the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Associate Editors by e-mail before submitting a manuscript to determine its suitability for this type of research article. Environmental Pollution continues to grow in quality and size as the number of manuscripts received steadily increases, and as new opportunities are given for rapid publication. We are making excellent progress in carrying out our Mission Statement — ‘‘to publish papers of the highest quality and significance and to effectively convey them to a worldwide audience in a timely manner’’.

PII: S0269-7491(01)00136-1

0269-7491/01/$ - see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0269-7491(01)00136-1

W.J. Manning Editor-in-Chief Department of Microbiology University of Massachusetts 203 Morril Science Center 639 North Pleasant Street Box 35720 Amherst, MA 01003-9298, USA E-mail address: [email protected]