Act with integrity

We expect our staff and all researchers engaging with Springer Nature to act with integrity. This means we uphold the principles of honesty, accountability, fairness, and compliance with legal and ethical standards and rule: honesty about who we are and what we are doing, accountability for our actions, fairness in our dealings with others and a demonstration of compliance with all applicable rules and regulations. We expect these same standards from staff and stakeholders. If we have reason to believe that these principles are not being honoured, we reserve the right to bring serious cases to the attention of employers or local authorities, if needed, and may refuse to interact, or do business, with individuals who repeatedly or seriously violate this policy.  

Manuscripts submitted by authors we find to be in breach of this policy will immediately be withdrawn. If we become aware of a breach of policy post publication we will investigate, and this may lead to post-publication action.