Editorial policies

The Nature Portfolio journals' editorial policies for primary scientific research can be found on the pages listed below. The Nature Portfolio includes all journals with Nature in their name, the Communications journals, the npj series, Scientific Reports and Scientific Data. A list of these journals and a description of the relationship between them can be found here. In August 2015, the Nature Portfolio journals became members of the Committee on Publication Ethics. We will be guided by COPE guidelines, however the Nature Portfolio journals will continue to make independent decisions based on our existing policies and principles.

For details on the editorial policies of other any non-Nature-Portfolio journal on nature.com, please visit their website.

Authorship

The Nature Portfolio journals' authorship policy.

Competing interests

Nature Portfolio journals' competing interests policies.

Confidentiality

The Nature Portfolio journals' policies on confidentiality.

Plagiarism and duplicate publication

The Nature Portfolio journals' policies on plagiarism and on providing due credit for published and unpublished data.

Image integrity and standards

Nature Portfolio journals' policies and guidelines on digital images and their manipulation.

Preprints & Conference Proceedings

Nature Portfolio journals' policy on preprints and conference proceedings.

Peer-review policy

Nature Portfolio journals' advice for peer-reviewers, and policies relevant to the peer-review process.

Reporting standards and availability of data, materials, code and protocols

Nature Portfolio journals' policy on availability of materials and data, and reporting requirements for life sciences research articles.

Ethics and biosecurity

Nature Portfolio journals' editorial policies on publishing primary research reporting experiments on living organisms; and on biosecurity and bioethics.

Correction and retraction policy

Nature Portfolio journals' policy on corrections, retractions and other amendments to published material.

Press and embargo policies

Nature Portfolio journals' policy on authors' communication with the media and at scientific meetings.

Self archiving and license to publish

Nature Portfolio license to publish policy, and conditions of re-use, for authors.