Improvement of Quality in Publication of Experimental Thermophysical Property Data: Challenges, Assessment Tools, Global Implementation, and Online Support

Abstract

This article describes a 10-year cooperative effort between the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and five major journals in the field of thermophysical and thermochemical properties to improve the quality of published reports of experimental data. The journals are Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, Fluid Phase Equilibria, Thermochimica Acta, and International Journal of Thermophysics. The history of this unique cooperation is outlined, together with an overview of software tools and procedures that have been developed and implemented to aid authors, editors, and reviewers at all stages of the publication process, including experiment planning. Both successes and failures are highlighted. The procedures are now well established and are designed to yield maximum benefit to all stakeholders (authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, readers, data users, etc.) through the establishment of procedures and support tools that efficiently serve the specific interests of those involved. All specially designed tools and procedures are described fully, together with their benefits and examples of application. A key feature of the cooperation is the efficient validation of experimental data after peer review but before acceptance for publication. Nearly 1000 articles per year are considered within the scope of this work, with significant problems identified in roughly one-third of these. Full statistics for the findings are given, and a variety of examples of common problems found are given.