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AI Authorship Policy

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not currently satisfy our authorship criteria. Notably an attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, which cannot be effectively applied to LLMs. We thus ask that the use of an LLM be properly documented in the Acknowledgements, or in the Introduction or Preface of the manuscript. 

The use of an LLM (or other AI-tool) for “AI assisted copy editing” purposes does not need to be declared. In this context, we define the term "AI assisted copy editing" as AI-assisted improvements to human-generated texts for readability and style, and to ensure that the texts are free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and tone. These AI-assisted improvements may include wording and formatting changes to the texts, but do not include generative editorial work and autonomous content creation. In all cases, there must be human accountability for the final version of the text and agreement from the authors that the edits reflect their original work. This reflects a similar stance taken on the AI generative figures policy, where it was acknowledged that there are cases where AI can be used to generate a figure without being concerned about copyright e.g. to generate a graph based on data provided by the author.

AI Authorship Guidance

Authors should familiarise themselves with the current known risks of using AI models before using them in their manuscript. AI models have been known to plagiarise content and to create false content. As such, authors should carry out due diligence to ensure that any AI-generated content in their book is correct, appropriately referenced, and follow the standards as laid out in our Book Authors' Code of Conduct.

AI-generated Images Policy

The fast-moving area of generative AI image creation has resulted in novel legal copyright and research integrity issues. As publishers, we strictly follow existing copyright law and best practices regarding publication ethics. While legal issues relating to AI-generated images and videos remain broadly unresolved, Springer Nature journals and books are unable to permit its use for publication.

Exceptions:

• Images/art obtained from agencies that we have contractual relationships with that have created images in a legally acceptable manner.
• Images and videos that are directly referenced in a piece that is specifically about  AI and such cases will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 
• The use of generative AI tools developed with specific sets of underlying scientific data that can be attributed, checked and verified for accuracy, provided that ethics, copyright and terms of use restrictions are adhered to. 

* All exceptions must be labelled clearly as generated by AI within the image field.

As we expect things to develop rapidly in this field in the near future, we will review this policy regularly and adapt if necessary.

Note: Examples of image types covered by this policy include: video and animation, including video stills; photography; illustration such as scientific diagrams, photo-illustrations and other collages, and editorial illustrations such as drawings, cartoons or other 2D or 3D visual representations. Not included in this policy are text-based and numerical display items, such as: tables, flow charts and other simple graphs that do not contain images. Please note that not all AI tools are generative. The use of non-generative machine learning tools to manipulate, combine or enhance existing images or figures should be disclosed in the relevant caption upon submission to allow a case-by-case review.

AI-generated Images Guidance

For more information on the inclusion of third party content (i.e. any work that you have not created yourself and which you have reproduced or adapted from other sources) please see Rights, Permissions, Third Party Distribution.

Please see Rights, Permissions, Third Party Distribution for information on how Springer Nature authors may reuse their work in third party publications.

These policies and guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere. 

Authorship should be limited to those who contributed substantially to the scholarly work such as drafting and/or revising critically the intellectual content of the work or significant parts of it.

“Honorary authorship” is not permitted. Third parties who added something substantial to the work but do not qualify as authors should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section.

Author Identification Guidance

Authors are strongly recommended to use their ORCID iD when submitting a manuscript for consideration, or to acquire an ORCID iD via the submission process.

Corresponding Authors Policy

The corresponding author listed on the manuscript ensures that all appropriate co-authors are included on the manuscript, and that all co-authors have approved the final version of the chapter, section or entry or full manuscript (where appropriate) and have agreed to its submission for publication. All co-authors therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results. Please note that the naming of authors is not merely a question of research ethics; it is also a copyright issue.

Please include all author names (in case of contributions to an edited work, also the names of the book editors) and the addresses of the authors' institutes, and please ensure that the sequence of the author names is correct when the manuscript is submitted. Once the manuscript has been delivered to production, changes to authorship are no longer possible.

Any potential authorship disputes brought to the editors’ attention will be handled in line with COPE guidelines.

Affiliation Policy

The primary affiliation for each author should be the institution where the majority of their work was done. Addresses will not be updated or changed after publication of the work.

Confidentiality Policy

Authors should treat all communication with Springer Nature as confidential, which includes correspondence with direct representatives assigned to the work such as series editors and/or handling editors and reviewers’ reports, unless explicit consent has been received to share information.

Changes to Authorship Policy

Authors are strongly advised to ensure that the authorship, the corresponding author and the order of authors is correct at submission. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in corresponding author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.

Please note that author names will be published as they appear on the accepted submission.

Please make sure that the names of all authors are present and correctly spelled, and that addresses and affiliations are current.

Adding and/or deleting authors at revision stage are generally not permitted, but in some cases it may be warranted. Reasons for these changes in authorship should be explained. Approval of the change during revision is at the discretion of Springer Nature.

Author Name Change Policy

Authors who have changed their name for reasons such as gender transition, religious conversion and others may request for their name, pronouns and other relevant biographical information to be amended on works published prior to the change. Authors can choose for this correction to happen silently, without notification of the name change, or by a formal public Correction, which will be visible on both the pdf and html versions of the published manuscript.

Please see SNCS Contact Form: Inclusive Name Change Policy.

Deceased or Incapacitated Authors Policy

For cases in which a co-author dies or is incapacitated during the writing, submission, or peer-review process, and the co-authors feel it is appropriate to include the author, co-authors should obtain approval from a (legal) representative which could be a direct relative.

Authorship Issues or Disputes Policy

In the case of an authorship dispute during peer review or after acceptance and publication, Springer Nature may not be in a position to investigate or adjudicate. Authors will be asked to resolve the dispute themselves. If they are unable, Springer Nature reserves the right to withdraw the manuscript from the editorial process or, in case of published content, raise the issue with the authors’ institution(s) and abide by its guidelines.

Research content and non-research content must cite appropriate and relevant literature in support of the claims made. Excessive self-citation, coordinated efforts among several authors to collectively self-cite, gratuitous and unnecessary citation of content published in the journal/book series to which the manuscript has been submitted, and any other form of citation manipulation are inappropriate. 

Citation manipulation will result in the article/chapter/book being rejected, and may be reported to authors’ institutions.  Similarly, any attempts by peer-reviewers or editors to encourage such practices should be reported by authors to the publisher. 

Authors should consider the following guidelines when preparing their manuscript: 

• Any statement in the manuscript that relies on external sources of information (i.e. not the authors' own new ideas or findings or general knowledge) should use a citation.
• Authors should avoid citing derivations of original work. For example, they should cite the original work rather than a review article that cites an original work.
• Authors should ensure that their citations are accurate (i.e. they should ensure the citation supports the statement made in their manuscript and should not misrepresent another work by citing it if it does not support the point the authors wish to make).
• Authors should not cite sources that they have not read.
• Authors should not preferentially cite their own or their friends’, peers’, or institution’s publications.
• Authors should avoid citing work solely from one country.
• Authors should not use an excessive number of citations to support one point.
• Ideally, authors should cite sources that have undergone peer review where possible.
• Authors should not cite advertisements or advertorial material.

We strongly encourage that all newly-developed code used to generate results or support claims for primary research covered in the book/chapter (e.g. computer programming code, software programs, macros, etc.) are made publicly available at the time of publication. We encourage authors to deposit their supporting code in publicly available repositories.

Where applicable, a code availability statement should be provided, with information on what code is available and where it can be found. The statement should be provided in the book Preface or Introduction or in the chapter Acknowledgements.

We recognise it is not always possible to share research code publicly, for instance when it requires simultaneous sharing of data in which the privacy of research participants could be compromised, and in such instances code availability should still be stated in the manuscript along with any conditions for access.

At Springer Nature we believe that only through relationships based upon mutual respect can we build trust and deliver quality publishing products and services to the communities we serve. Our staff are expected to behave professionally and respectfully at all times when engaging with authors, reviewers and readers. Likewise, we expect the same standards of behavior from the academic community and the public in their interactions with our staff. We do not tolerate aggressive behavior, or any form of harassment, bullying or discrimination directed against Springer Nature staff. 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.

A competing interest or conflict of interest is a situation in which the author’s interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by their personal or financial relationship with other people or organizations.

Springer Nature requires corresponding authors and their co-authors to disclose all relationships or interests that could potentially have direct or indirect influence or may lead to bias within the work. Disclosure of interests is not only a requirement from Abstracting and Indexing Services, but also provides a more complete and transparent process and helps readers form their own judgments of potential bias. This does not necessarily mean a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation received for consultancy work is inappropriate.

Please refer to manuscript guidelines for further information on how to disclose competing interest in the manuscript.

At Springer Nature we advance discovery by publishing trusted research, supporting the development of new ideas and championing open science. We also aim to facilitate compliance with research funder and institution requirements to share data.

We strongly encourage that all datasets supporting the analysis and conclusions of the book/chapter are made publicly available at the time of publication. We encourage authors to deposit their supporting data in publicly available repositories. See our repository guidance for more information. 

Please note that, for a number of data types, submission to a community-endorsed, public repository may be mandatory. See our list of mandated data types.

We recognise it is not always possible to share research data publicly, for instance when the privacy of research participants could be compromised, or when permission is not granted by the owners of the data.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are at the forefront of strategic priorities at Springer Nature. We are committed to serving a diverse and global research community. Get the information and inspiration you need from our DEI Hub to make your published work inclusive, and representative.

Inclusive Language Guidance

Springer Nature is committed to supporting clear and unbiased communication of research, consistent with our commitment to embedding inclusive principles in our editorial and publishing practices. Therefore we recommend that all authors review the Springer Nature Inclusive Language guide (available in our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hub) when writing, to ensure accurate, culturally sensitive, and bias-free language.

Harmful Research Content Policy

We believe that authors, editors, reviewers and publishers need to be mindful about research and its dissemination that may potentially harm population groups, as a result of discrimination in the assumptions or framing, methodology, interpretation or presentation of the research. We achieve this by presenting principles and guidelines intended to assist those considering the interests of population groups and also ethical aspects of various forms of discrimination.

Springer Nature requires authors to be transparent throughout the ethical approval process and research process. When including primary studies in a book/ chapter manuscript with human participants, authors must adhere to the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Authors should report that the study was reviewed and approved by an appropriate ethics review committee and must include the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate. This information is also a requirement for Abstracting and Indexing Services in certain disciplines.

In addition, for human participants, authors are required to include a statement that informed consent (to participate and / or to publish) was obtained from individual participants or parents/ guardians if the participant is minor or incapable. An example of a Human Research Participant Publication Approval Template is provided here.

If animals are studied, authors should make sure that the legal requirements or guidelines in the country and/or state or province for the care and use of animals have been followed or specify that no ethics approval was required. Please refer to the manuscript guidelines for further information on how to disclose ethical standards in the manuscript.

Springer Nature reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements. Authors will be held responsible for false statements or failure to fulfil these requirements.

Springer Nature believes that publishers, authors, editors, and reviewers should consider how research and its dissemination may potentially harm population groups, as a result of discrimination in the assumptions or framing, methodology, interpretation or presentation of the research.

We have prepared principles and guidelines intended to assist those considering the interests of population groups and also ethical aspects of various forms of discrimination. A user can find our full presentation of these principles and guidelines.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are at the forefront of strategic priorities at Springer Nature. We are committed to serving a diverse and global research community. Get the information and inspiration you need from our DEI Hub to make your published work inclusive, and representative.

Springer Nature strongly encourages the use of inclusive language. Authors are requested to make themselves aware when describing particular communities of whether that community prefers to be referred to in terms of either people-first language or identity-first language and then use the preference of the community. Failure to do so can be highly offensive to the community and even stigmatizing.

Use of people-first language is defined as putting the person before the common identifier, e.g. person with diabetes. Identity-first language is defined as putting the common identifier before the person, e.g. Deaf person. It’s important to be aware of not using just the identifier, for example “'disabled people' is widely used, whereas 'the disabled' is not.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are at the forefront of strategic priorities at Springer Nature. We are committed to serving a diverse and global research community. Get the information and inspiration you need from our DEI Hub to make your published work inclusive, and representative.

Please see our Open Access Policies for Books page for information on our open access policies for books and book chapters, including licensing, copyright, use of third-party material, self-archiving, compliance with open access funder mandates and retrospective open access.

Details of palaeontological specimens and geological samples should include clear provenance information to ensure full transparency of the research.

It is recognized that precise provenance information may not be available for older museum collections. In circumstances where providing specific provenance information may compromise the security of palaeontological or geological sites it may be appropriate to exclude detailed locality information.

Samples must always be collected and exported in a responsible manner and in accordance with applicable local and national laws. Any submission detailing new material should include information regarding the requisite permissions obtained and the issuing authority. Authors may be required to provide specific supporting documentation upon request.

Type, figured and cited palaeontological specimens should be deposited in a recognised museum or collection to permit free access by other researchers in perpetuity. Sufficient information on the repository, including the assigned unique catalogue numbers (where applicable), should be provided to allow the specimens to be traced.

We encourage deposition of 3D scans of fossil specimens (where appropriate) within a permanent, accessible repository to facilitate study by the scientific community.

Springer Nature requires that submitted content adheres to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) national cultural heritage laws and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Resolutions, Recommendations and other Decisions.

Springer Nature endorses (peer) review as a key factor in developing and validating high quality scholarly publications. It is understood that readership differs per book type (edited volumes, reference works, textbooks, professional books, and conference proceedings (amongst others) and that the approach to assess the merit of the work should be aligned with both the expectations of the intended audience and norms within a specific discipline. 

All books published by Springer Nature undergo review. This usually involves a review by experts; this can be either independent external reviewers or inhouse subject specialists. Proposals and manuscript submissions to Springer Nature are assessed and reviewed by an inhouse editor who decides whether the submission is suitable to send out for further review to appropriate book series editors, editorial board and/or external peer reviewers, after which a decision is made whether the content is suitable for publication.

The reviewers’ reports will be taken into account in the decision making in manuscript acceptance.

Use of AI in peer review

Peer reviewers play a vital role in scientific publishing. Their expert evaluations and recommendations guide editors in their decisions and ensure that published research is valid, rigorous, and credible. Editors select peer reviewers primarily because of their in-depth knowledge of the subject matter or methods of the work they are asked to evaluate. This expertise is invaluable and irreplaceable. Peer reviewers are accountable for the accuracy and views expressed in their reports, and the peer review process operates on a principle of mutual trust between authors, reviewers and editors. Despite rapid progress, generative AI tools have considerable limitations: they can lack up-to-date knowledge and may produce nonsensical, biased or false information. Manuscripts may also include sensitive or proprietary information that should not be shared outside the peer review process. For these reasons we ask that, while Springer Nature explores providing our peer reviewers with access to safe AI tools, peer reviewers do not upload manuscripts into generative AI tools.

If any part of the evaluation of the claims made in the manuscript was in any way supported by an AI tool, we ask peer reviewers to declare the use of such tools transparently in the peer review report.

Authored Books Peer Review Policy

On submission, the manuscript is assessed by Springer Nature editorial staff and may be sent again for external peer-review.

Edited Books Peer Review Policy

Further to our Peer Review/Review Policy, the volume editors are responsible for reviewing and approving all contributions. On submission, the manuscript is assessed by Springer Nature editorial staff and may be sent again for external peer-review.

Conference Proceedings Peer Review Policy

All papers published in Springer Nature proceedings undergo peer review. This usually involves review by independent, expert peer reviewers. Responsibility for reviewing all papers lies with the program chairs/volume editors, and they engage the program committee members and any external reviewers in the reviewing process as appropriate. Upon submitting a completed proposal to Springer Nature, the volume editors/program committee chairs are requested to provide a description of the review process employed and the number of reviews per paper. The evaluation of all contributions should be documented by the volume editors/program committee chairs and should be made available to Springer Nature if requested. We expect that the accepted papers were/will be presented at the conference.

Book Series Peer Review Policy

The review of a proposal or manuscript submitted to a book series is among the ways in which Springer Nature decides to publish a book. This helps us to establish if the proposed book fits within the aims and scope of the series, and satisfies other criteria such as quality and relevance for the intended community. Each manuscript is fully reviewed prior to its acceptance for publication in the book series by the book series editors, in-house editors, series editorial board members or external experts in the field appointed by the series editor and/or Springer Nature.

Peer Reviewer Recommendation Guidance

Springer Nature is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and we need your support to implement these principles. Editors/series editors/program committee chairs and members are strongly encouraged to consider, when applicable, geographical regions, gender identities, racial/ethnic groups, and other groups when inviting peer reviewers.

Authors or volume editors may be requested to provide names of potential reviewers; however, whether or not to consider these reviewers is at Springer Nature's discretion. We ask that the proposed individuals be unbiased and do not include scholars in your department, from your thesis committee, or who have served in an advisory capacity to you or the project in the past.

Authors are welcome to suggest suitable independent reviewers whose expertise they respect and whose feedback they would value. They may also request that up to two individuals not be considered as reviewers. These suggestions and requests will be seriously considered, but, while considerable weight will be given to the author’s input, the final decision will remain with the in-house book publishing editor.

Confidentiality Policy

Depending on the type of peer review, peer reviewers should adhere to the principles of COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers and therefore are required to respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond the information released by Springer Nature. If reviewers wish to involve a colleague in the review process they should first obtain permission from Springer Nature or the series editor.
Springer Nature will not share manuscripts with third parties outside of Springer Nature with the exception of peer review or cases of suspected misconduct.

Reviewers should be made aware of the expectations as set out in the Guidelines for Book Reviewers and our How to Peer Review: Springer Nature Tutorial.

Please see Rights, Permissions, Third Party Distribution for information on how Springer Nature authors may reuse their published work (book or journal) in their theses.

Please see Open Access Policies for Books for our policies on self-archiving of both non-open access and open access books and book chapters.

Researchers are encouraged to follow the Sex and Gender Equity in Research guidelines and to include sex and gender considerations where relevant. 

Working definitions (adopted/adapted from the SAGER guidelines)

Sex - refers to currently understood biological differences between females and males, including chromosomes, sex organs, and endogenous hormonal profiles. Sex is usually categorized as female or male, although there is variation in the biological attributes that constitute sex.

Gender - refers to socially constructed and enacted roles and behaviours which occur in a historical and cultural context and vary across societies and over time. Gender is usually incorrectly conceptualized as a binary (man/woman or feminine/masculine) factor. In reality, there is a spectrum of gender identities and expressions defining how individuals identify themselves and express their gender 

Gender identity and/or expression - A person’s concept of self as being male and masculine or female and feminine, or non-binary or ambivalent, based in part on physical characteristics, parental responses, and psychological and social pressures. It is the internal experience of a gender role. This includes Transgender Persons, as having a sense of persistent identification with, and expression of, gender-coded behaviours not typically associated with one’s anatomical sex at birth and with or without a desire to undergo sex reassignment procedures. 

“Gender” refers to a set of cultural norms and expectations and not a “biologically defined variable”. Such norms are not fixed but evolve across time and space. As such, definitions will require frequent revisiting, as the exercise of defining gender (and sexuality) is under constant flux and evolution, as is the area of study in itself.

Authors should use the terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (shaped by social and cultural circumstances) carefully in order to avoid confusing both terms. Article titles and/or abstracts should indicate clearly what sex(es) the study applies to. Authors should also describe in the background, whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected; report how sex and/or gender were accounted for in the design of the study; provide disaggregated data by sex and/or gender, where appropriate; and discuss respective results. If a sex and/or gender analysis was not conducted, the rationale should be given in the Discussion. These guidelines apply to studies involving humans, vertebrate animals and cell lines.

Researchers are encouraged to promote equality between men and women in their academic research which by nature should be grounded on the recognition of merit, competences and creativity, regardless of any other personal attributes or orientation.

Sexist, misogynistic and/or anti-LGBTQ+ content is ethically objectionable. Regardless of content type (research, review or opinion) and, for research, regardless of whether a research project was reviewed and approved by appropriate ethics specialists, editors may raise with the authors concerns regarding potentially sexist, misogynistic, and/or anti-LGBTQ+ assumptions, implications or speech in their submission; engage external ethics experts to provide input on such issues as part of the peer review process; or request modifications to (or correct or otherwise amend post-publication), and in severe cases refuse publication of (or retract post-publication) sexist, misogynistic, and/or anti-LGBTQ+ content, using the guiding criteria I-IV in our guidance on Research on human populations.

Political Neutrality Policy

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. We do not take political positions and should not support political parties or endorse political candidates.

We achieve this by being politically neutral (which includes not donating to political parties or endorsing politically-driven boycotts) while respecting the editorial independence of the media in respect of our content. This means that, while editorial content in Springer Nature publications might sometimes take a political position, it should not be seen as a reflection or otherwise of the company’s position. Editorial content is not influenced by the company and vice versa.

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