FAQs – for potential authors and editors

The RSC Advances in Chemistry Education Series

Who publishes these books? What is the RSC?

The RSC Advances in Chemistry Education book series is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society and professional membership organisation.

The RSC was formed from a merger in 1972 of several precursor organisations including the the Chemical Society (originally the Chemical Society of London) established in 1841 (allowing the RSC to claim to be "the oldest chemical society in the world") and the Royal Institute of Chemistry (founded 1877) as well as the Faraday Society (founded in 1903 and concerned with physical chemistry) and the Society for Analytical Chemistry (originally the Society of Public Analysts, formed in 1874).

It is registered as a charity in the UK (i.e., a not-for-profit organisation).

The RSC has an education division (of its members and fellows) and an education department (providing services to chemistry education at all levels).

The RSC is a leading international scientific publisher, publishing journals books and databases.

This page comprises advice from the series Editor-in-Chief and nothing here should be seen as comprising part of any contract that might be offered by the RSC and any questions regarding legal matters should be addressed to staff officers of the RSC.

What kind of works are published in the series?

The series publishes scholarly accounts of topics in chemistry education intended to be contributions to the academic field, but also informative to practitioners (such as science teachers, chemistry lecturers, teacher educators/developers, curriculum developers, etc.).

The series includes monographs and edited volumes.

That is, we are open to potential authors (individually, or as teams) to propose volumes that they will write; and we are also open to potential editors (individually, or as teams) proposing volumes that they will edit from contributions they will invite from a range of authors/author teams. Where the term editor is used below, this is intended to include authors of monograph volumes.

What is the scope of the series?

The focus of the series is chemistry education. This will of course be interpreted by the series editors and their reviewers, but as a general guide the scope of the field is likely to overlap with those topics regularly found in journals such as Chemistry Education Research and Practice and the Journal of Chemical Education.

Chemistry education is understood broadly:

• formal education
• informal education
• teacher education/development
• public understanding of chemistry

Topics covered could include

• approaches to teaching chemistry and chemistry topics;
• the use of technology in chemistry teaching and learning; assessment of learning in chemistry education;
• chemistry in the curriculum;
• chemistry teacher preparation and development;
• initiatives to improve public understanding of chemistry
• developments in research methodology as applied in chemistry education

As a book series, we will not accept a proposal with proposed content which too closely overlaps with the content of an existing title in the series or a volume under contract and in preparation for publication in the series.

Who decides if a proposal if accepted for the series?

A decision to offer a contract to authors or editors is made at a commissioning meeting at the RSC.

Such a decision will be made based on the recommendation of the publisher's internal commissioning editor.

This will be informed by the advice of the editorial board.

The editorial board will give their advice having considered both the proposal and the reports of independent expert reviewers.

So, a submission which fit the basic requirements of the series (scholarly accounts of topics in chemistry education intended to be contributions to the academic field) will be sent to experts in the field for peer review. The proposal and review will be considered by the editorial board, and the commissioning editor will make a decision whether to recommend offering a contract to the proposals. *

Are there expectations when working with an international publisher?

The RSC is based in the UK and Eire, but is an international organisation for the chemical sciences and its publications are directed at a global readership. That clearly is an advantage for authors as their work is made available to, and read by, colleagues around the world.

This brings expectations of the kind of material that will be published.

The RSC is a leading scientific publishing looking to publish work of international significance. (So not all proposals that are 'on topic' will be accepted.)

RSC publications reflect the global nature of the chemical sciences, and are authored by colleagues from around the world.

The language used in RSC publications should be clear to an international readership. (That is, authors should not assume that readers around the world will know what is meant by GCSE, A level, a mid-western University, K-12 Education, Y9 students, elementary/primary/infant/junior/middle/secondary/high school, OfSted, NGSS, NSTA, and so forth. 'College students' may imply undergraduates in some contexts, but may mean something quite different elsewhere. Authors should always assume that all features specific to a local or national educational context need to be explained on first use for those working elsewhere.)

So must proposed volumes be edited/written by teams from across different countries?

Editors and authors should be experts in the topics they are writing about. Volume co-authors or co-editors may sometimes be from different parts of the world – or may be from the same country (or possibly even a team based at the same institution) – what is important is that the team has the right expertise, and can work together well.

It is likely that an edited volume will include contributions from different national settings because chemistry education is an international field with ground-breaking research being undertaken in many parts of the world. This will be something those evaluating a proposal will have in mind.

Of course, for a specific volume, due to its themes/topic/approach, it may be that the relevant expertise is concentrated in a limited number of centres where current research and scholarship is located. Each proposal will be examined on its own merits. For topics that are the subject of ongoing research around the world we would normally expect this to be reflected in the range of experts invited to contribute. Those proposing volumes are able to explain the rationale for selecting those they have invited to contribute to an edited volume.

What is the timescale for preparing a book?

Most authors and editors are academics writing for a book alongside their other professional commitments. Authors/Editors are asked to suggest a viable timescale when making a their proposal, and it is recgonised that this will reflect the wider commitments of contributors. It is helpful it proposed timescales are realistic as book production needs to be scheduled in advance. (Usually a request to extend a submission deadline by a modest period for a book under contract will be considered favourably as long as such a request is made well in advance of the expected submission date.)

If writing a book for the first time, then consider that the manuscript is likely to go through several versions before being ready, and also that some time needs to be put aside for preparing front material such as contents lists.

If editing a book you should be aware that chapter authors' may miss deadlines for various reasons, and that it is usual for editors to review chapters and often authors will be asked to revise aspects of their work at the editor's discretion – so the time scale has to allow for this (deadlines for submissions of drafts, then time for the editor or others to review chapters, then time for authors to make revisions and editors to check these).

Will the book have an index?

Yes, books in the series include an index.

Can the book include figures?

The books can include figures if provided by the editors. These need to be suitable (high enough quality) for publication and the editors must have the right to include them. (That is, permission to re-use previously published material that is the copyright of, or licensed to, other parties, must be obtained by the editors before submitting the manuscript.)

What support does the publisher provide?

The publisher organises the design of the cover including a cover image and 'blurb'. Editors/authors are consulted on this.

The publisher provides the copy-editing of the manuscript, and the production of the books (in physical form and as downloadable content), and arranges marketing and distribution.

Note: The publisher does NOT check the content for scientific accuracy or arrange for language editing of contributions that are not in acceptable English. All aspects of preparing the manuscript are the responsibility of the editors.

To what extent is the final manuscript expected to reflect the proposal on which a contract was offered?

The manuscript submitted for production and publication must substantially reflect the proposal that was the basis for the contracted book.

It is not unusual for the plan for a book to develop in various ways:

• new developments in a field that have arisen since the proposal was made may need to be reflected;
• the process of writing may lead an author to make changes such as splitting or combining or re-sequencing or re-titling chapters. Usually this will not be a problem (and indeed may improve the book for readers).

Editors may find that some chapter authors may withdraw from the writing process due to unforeseen circumstances, and replacements may then need to be found. (Editors may also sometimes feel on reading submitted drafts that changes to the intended book structure may be needed: for example, that due to the emphasis and balance of a submitted chapter, it may be sensible to seek a complementary contribution; or possibly that a chapter may be better split into two discrete contributions.)

However, authors/editors of books under contract as recommended to advise their contact in the editorial office at RSC about any substantive changes they envisage as these arise to check that the RSC is happy with the changes.

To what extend should the contributions to an edited volume be determined at the point of making a proposal?

To evaluate a proposal for an edited book it is important to have outline details of the individual contributions as well as the overall plan fro the volume. Normally we would expect to know the names of contributors (or at least the lead author of contributions when they are leading a team); a working title for the chapter and an abstract of the content of that chapter and some commentary on how it fits in the volume.

It is understood that chapter authors cannot be expected to undertake a great deal of work on an invited chapter ahead of a book proposal being offered, but these minimal details are needed to evaluate the potential of their contributions.

(In the process of editing such a volume, editors may be let down by the authors of a committed chapter (perhaps with very understandable reasons) and may need to substitute a emplacement contribution. Or developments in the field may make it sensible to add an additional contribution not envisaged at the time of making the proposal. So, it is understood that sometimes the final contents and cast of contributors of the book may vary slightly form that proposed initially. The editors here are expected to do their best to meet the spirit of their accepted proposal.)

The proposal should then include an outline of the expected contributions based on having approached potential authors who have agreed in principle to contribute to the work.

If changes in the list of contributors become necessary after a contract has been awarded, the editors should keep their contact in the RSC office informed of such developments.

Should manuscripts for the series be peer-reviewed?

All proposals are subject to peer review. When the manuscript is submitted this is evaluated by the RSC to ensure it fits what has been agreed when a contract was offered. It is not usually sent for subsequent peer review.

Whilst the RSC does not usually arrange formal peer review of submitted manuscripts as a matter of course, submitted manuscripts are subject to editorial scrutiny (to ensure match with proposal, and quality of content and writing), and manuscripts – or parts thereof – could be sent for peer review should this be felt appropriate.

Authors may invite colleagues to informally review their work, and make revisions accordingly, before submitting if they feel this would be valuable. (In which case the support of colleagues in this way should be acknowledged in the front matter of the book, or in acknowledgements to specific chapters.)

Editors should review contributors to the volumes. They may do this themselves, and they may also wish to organise independent peer review of contributions (by a review board comprised of the author team and/or beyond) and ask for revisions as appropriate. (Reporting this process in the front matter may assure readers of the quality of the work.) However, if this is undertaken, it is for the editors (not the RSC, nor its editorial board) to organise.

It is recommended that all authors offering contributions are made aware of the kind of, and timetable for, review of their chapters at the outset. (They should NOT be surprised to receive review reports and requests for revisions after submitting their contributions.) Similarly, if it is intended to ask authors to review each other's chapters this should be made clear at the outset, and not simply expected from authors who had not initially agreed to this. (Waiting for reviews from colleagues who were not aware they were being expected to find time to provide them can delay book projects.)

How do I make a book proposal?

To make a formal proposal, complete the book proposal form (linked below), giving as much information as possible in each section.

If you wish to include further information, please append this to the form.

Do I need to suggest referees?

You are invited to suggest a number of experts in the topics/field of the proposal who may be approached to review the proposal. The editorial board will also suggest some potential referees. You do not need to suggest referees if you do not wish to do so, and referees you do suggest may to may not be approached.

Are proposals simply either accepted or rejected?

Proposals may sometimes be simply accepted or rejected, but where a potentially promising proposal is received where referees or the editorial board have questions or reservations about aspects of the proposal, the editors will be invited to respond to those points and potentially revise their proposal. That is, where a submission has promise but is not felt to be quite right for the series as proposed then we look to enter into dialogue to see if the proposal can be moved forward.

It is usual for there to be some degree of revision of a proposal before a recommendation is made to offer a book contract. As with peer review generally, the purpose is not only to evaluate scholars' work, but also to offer feedback to help improve it.

How do I obtain a proposal form?

You can download the form here: RSC-book-proposal-form-AiCE

Who can be contacted with questions about a possible book proposal?

Informal enquiries about book ideas may be made to Prof. Keith Taber (Editor-in-chief for the series).

The RSC's Senior Commissioning Editor responsible for the series is Dr Michelle Carey (Senior Commissioning Editor, Books). Michelle is better placed to respond to any technical questions about contracts, and the nature of the Society's work on volumes in production, marketing, and distribution.

* A decision to publish a book in the series is made by the appropriate commissioning committee of the RSC's publication division, on the recommendation of the commissioning editor.  That recommendation will be informed by feedback received on a formal proposal that has been sent to peer reviewers, and then to the editorial board. The referees and editorial board will be primarily considering the scholarly merits of the work and the potential contribution it could make: its value to potential readers – other researchers or teachers. Clearly, however, the RSC also has to consider the potential market for the book, so a very well-intentioned book that has great academic merits will still only be published if it is not considered TOO niche even within a specialist series such as Advances in Chemistry Education.

If you decide to proceed you will therefore need to complete a proposal form and be aware that the proposal will be examined primarily for its intellectual merits, but the publisher also needs to consider its commercial viability.