Analyst journal

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Analyst is a Transformative Journal, and Plan S compliant

Impact factor: 3.6*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 8.0 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 27.0 days***

Editor-in-Chief: Melanie Bailey

Indexed in MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science

Open access publishing options available

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Meet the team

Journal scope

Analyst has been at the forefront of analytical and bioanalytical science since 1876, publishing high-quality research that offers new insights and innovative measurement solutions to core challenges in the field. We welcome submissions on a wide range of groundbreaking topics, including but not limited to:

Biological and chemical sensors
Biomedical analysis and diagnostics
Electrochemistry
High throughput screening advances, including lab automation
Imaging techniques
Machine learning, AI, and data processing in measurement science
Mass spectrometry
Microfluidics and miniaturized analysis systems
Nanoscience applied to measurement science
Pharmaceutical analysis
Chemical informatics including proteomics, metabolomics, and other 'omics
Separation science
Spectroscopy
Surface analysis

At Analyst, we publish both primary research and review articles, ensuring a comprehensive coverage of significant advancements in analytical measurement technology. Our broad scope spans fundamental breakthroughs and practical developments with applications across the full spectrum of the analytical sciences.

However, we do not consider submissions that focus on:

Routine uses of established analytical techniques and methods
Synthesis, characterization, or development of materials and synthetic approaches that do not introduce novel measurement methods or innovative applications for enhanced sensing or performance
Applying existing methods to new targets without significant novelty
Statistical analysis that lacks a clear analytical purpose

We invite you to join us in advancing the field of measurement science by contributing your innovative research to Analyst.

Readership

Analyst is widely read by scientists and engineers dedicated to innovating, developing, and applying cutting-edge techniques in measurement science. This includes chemists, biologists, engineers, materials scientists, and clinical/biomedical researchers, whose interests encompass fundamental, applied, and translational applications.

Analyst Emerging Investigator Lectureship Award

This Lectureship recognises early career researchers, within 10 years of their PhD, who have made a significant contribution to analytical chemistry, in their independent academic career.

You can read about eligibility, how to nominate, see deadlines and all of the award winners.

Find out more

Meet the editorial team

Find out who is on the editorial and advisory boards for Analyst.

Editor-in-Chief

Melanie Bailey, University of Surrey, UK

Associate editors

Damien Arrigan, Curtin University, Australia

Ryan Bailey, University of Michigan, USA

Jaebum Choo, Chung-Ang University, South Korea

Karen Faulds, University of Strathclyde, UK

Simona Francese, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Hideaki Hisamoto, Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

Baohong Liu, Fudan University, China

Nicole Pamme, Stockholm University, Sweden

Hua-Zhong Yu, Reviews editor, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Jun-Jie Zhu, Nanjing University, China,

Editorial board members

Susan Lunte, The University of Kansas, USA

Matthew Baker, University of Central Lancashire, UK

Paul Bohn, University of Notre Dame, USA

Claudia Conti, CNR, Italy

R Graham Cooks, Purdue University, USA

Jeffrey Dick, Purdue University, USA

Volker Deckert, University of Jena, Germany

Joshua Edel, Imperial College London, UK

Qun Fang, Zhejiang University, China

Facundo Fernandez, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Roy Goodacre, University of Liverpool, UK

Duncan Graham, University of Strathclyde, UK

Stephen Holman, AstraZeneca, UK

Robert T Kennedy, University of Michigan, USA

Kagan Kerman, University of Toronto, Canada

Christine Kranz, Ulm University, Germany

Annamalai Senthil Kumar, Vellore Institute of Technology University, India

Xiujun Li, University of Texas at El Paso, USA

Lanqun Mao, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

María Marín, University of East Anglia, UK

Pavel Matousek, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK

Prakash Chandra Mondal, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India

Wei Min, Columbia University, USA

Boris Mizaikoff, University of Ulm, Germany

Howbeer Muhamadali, University of Liverpool, UK

Takeaki Ozawa, University of Tokyo, Japan

Ashley Ross, University of Cincinnati, USA

Muhammad Shiddiky, Griffith University, Australia

Debbie Silvester, Curtin University, Australia

Steven A Soper, University of Kansas, USA

Dana Spence, Michigan State University, USA

Nick Stone, University of Exeter, UK

Evan Williams, University of California, USA

Chaoyong James Yang, Xiamen University, China

Yilun Ying, Nanjing University, China

Philippa Ross, Executive Editor

Alice Smallwood, Deputy Editor

David Lake, Development Editor

Gabriel Clarke, Development Editor

Rebecca Garton, Editorial Manager

Derya Kara-Fisher, Publishing Editor

Emma Stephen, Publishing Editor

Ziva Whitelock, Publishing Editor

Charlie Palmer, Publishing Editor

Tabitha Jay, Publishing Editor

Darryl Wilks, Editorial Assistant

Andrea Whiteside, Publishing Assistant

Sam Keltie, Publisher

Article types

Analyst publishes:

Communications
Full papers
Critical reviews
Tutorial reviews
Minireviews
Comments

See more information about these article types

Communication

These must report preliminary research findings that are highly original, of immediate interest and are likely to have a high impact. Communications are given priority treatment, are fast-tracked through the publication process and appear prominently at the front of the journal. The key aim of Communications is to present innovative concepts with important analytical implications. As such, Communications need only demonstrate 'proof of principle': it is not expected that the analytical figures of merit will necessarily surpass those of existing, highly refined analytical techniques. At the time of submission, authors should provide a short paragraph explaining why their work justifies urgent publication as a Communication.

Ideally, a Full paper should follow each Communication in an appropriate primary journal. There is no page limit for communications in Analyst; however, the length should be commensurate with scientific content. Authors are encouraged to make full use of electronic supplementary information in order to present more concise articles.

Full papers

These must represent a significant development in the particular field of analysis and are judged according to originality, quality of scientific content and contribution to existing knowledge. Although there is no page limit for full papers, appropriateness of length to content of new science will be taken into consideration.

Review articles

A range of review articles are published in Analyst on selected topics of interest to analytical scientists. Potential writers of review articles should contact the editorial office before embarking on their work.

Critical review

Critical reviews are definitive, comprehensive reviews but must also provide a critical evaluation of the chosen topic area. Authors should try to be selective in the choice of material, whilst still aim to cover all the important work in the field, also indicating possible future developments.

Minireview

Minireviews are highlights or summaries of research in an emerging area of analytical science covering approximately the last two-three years. Given topics should review work no more than approximately 36 months old, and articles should cover only the most interesting/significant developments in that specific subject area. The articles should be highly critical and selective in referencing published work. A small amount of speculation of possible future developments may also be appropriate in the Conclusions section.

Tutorial review

Tutorial reviews are written from a personal point of view, and ideally should be the first review of a new significant area, bringing together the results of various primary publications. Tutorial reviews are intended to interest a large number of readers and should be written at a level that could be understood by an advanced undergraduate student. The intention is to increase awareness and understanding of the chosen topic area for workers/researchers already involved in the field, workers changing the direction/emphasis of their work and a broad based non-specialist (graduate and post-graduate) audience, with a view to informing them of the most recent developments in the area.

Comments

Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in Analyst.

For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication.

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

Journal guidelines

For guidance on preparing your article please visit our Prepare your article, Resources for authors and Experimental data guidelines pages, the content of which is relevant to all of our journals. Please note the updated guidelines for electrophoretic gels and blots.

How do Analyst and Analytical Methods compare?
From discovery to recovery – Analyst and Analytical Methods working together for the analytical community
Analyst, 2011, 136, 429
DOI: 10.1039/c0an90013c

Open access publishing options

Analyst is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or instead by choosing our gold open access option. Find out more about our Transformative Journals. which are Plan S compliant.

Gold open access

For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, Analyst charges an article processing charge (APC) of £3,000 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted for publication.

Learn more about publishing open access.

Read & Publish

If your institution has a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry, APCs for gold open access publishing in Analyst may already be covered.

Check if your institution is already part of our Read & Publish community.

Please use your official institutional email address to submit your manuscript; this helps us to identify if you are eligible for Read & Publish or other APC discounts.

Traditional subscription model

Authors can also publish in Analyst via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC. Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.

Learn more about green open access.

Subscription information

Analyst is part of RSC Gold and Analytical Science subscription packages.

Online only 2025: ISSN 1364-5528, £2,504 / $4,383

*2023 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2024)

**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year

***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year

Contact us

Pre-submission queries please contact Philippa Ross, Executive Editor

Email:: Send us an email

Post-submission queries please contact Rebecca Garton, Editorial Manager

Email:: Send us an email

Analyst