About this site
Welcome to Nature Protocols. Here you will find general information about Nature Protocols, including descriptions of the:
- Aims and scope
- Content and functionality of the site
- Access to the site
- Our terms and conditions
- How to cite Nature Protocols
- Our ISSN and E-ISSN
- Our relationship with Nature Methods and other Nature publications
- Our publishing policies
- Our privacy policy
Aims and scope
Nature Protocols is an interactive online resource for laboratory protocols for bench researchers. Protocols are presented in a 'recipe' style providing step-by-step descriptions of procedures that users can take to the lab bench and immediately apply in their own research. Protocols on the site are fully searchable and organized into logical categories to be easily accessible to researchers.
Our Protocols come from a variety of sources. The core content, the Nature Protocols, are high quality, peer-reviewed procedures commissioned by the Nature Protocols editorial team. The site also contains protocols derived from supplementary information from Nature Research Journals, within the Protocols Network. In the coming months we will be expanding the Protocols Network to include supplier protocols and content posted directly on the site by the scientific community using social software. To enable timely publication, the Protocols Network protocols will not be further styled, peer reviewed or copy edited, but posted live soon after submission. Brief details of each protocol type and how to submit can be found at for authors.
Nature Protocols aims to publish the protocols being used to answer outstanding biological and biomedical science research questions, including methods grounded in physics and chemistry that have a practical application to the study of biological problems. Further details of our scope can be found here.
Content and Functionality of the site
Both our Nature Protocols and Protocols Network content can be accessed by searching or browsing the site. Each month the Editors highlight selected content. The latest Nature Protocols content uploaded to the site can be browsed here, or can be received in a monthly e-mail alert, by signing up for our e-toc. Details of how to submit a protocol can be found at for authors.
The site also contains a central page listing common reagents and equipment of use to users of many of the protocols we publish. We welcome feedback on this page so we can develop this resource further.
We invite researchers to comment on the protocols by clicking on the ‘comment on this protocol’ link on the protocol of interest. All authors of protocols or comments must agree to adhere to our terms and conditions, below.
Access to the site
The commissioned Nature Protocols are available via a site license. Alternatively, access to individual articles can be purchased on an article-by-article basis. Content in the Protocols Network is freely available. Visit 'sample protocols' to see freely available samples of our Nature Protocols content.
Our terms and conditions
All authors of protocols and comments must adhere to our terms and conditions. Comments should be related to the protocol under discussion and any criticism must be constructive. Language must be appropriate for constructive scientific dialogue. Initially we will be monitoring all protocols and comments submitted, hence there will be a short lag between submission and uploading to the site.
How to cite our content
The correct abbreviation for Nature Protocols content is Nat. Protocols. The Nature Protocols content has been assigned volume and page numbers, to facilitate citation. In addition, each protocol has a unique DOI. Protocols Network content has also been assigned a DOI; however, given that this content has not been peer-reviewed we recommend it not be viewed as a citable publication in the conventional sense. Where the protocol has been used in a primary research article we recommend that this article be cited in preference.
ISSN and eISSN
The international standard serial number (ISSN) and electronic international standard serial number (EISSN) for Nature Protocols is 1750-2799.
Our relationship with Nature Methods and other Nature publications
Nature Protocols is editorially independent, and its editors make their own decisions, independent of the other Nature journals. Our sister title, Nature Methods, is a monthly research journal predominantly publishing primary research articles focused on novel methods and improvements to tried-and-tested techniques. In addition Nature Methods publishes protocols, and from June 2006 these protocols will be published in association with Nature Protocols. This association will result in the protocols published in Nature Methods being part of the wider portfolio of protocols that can be accessed via searching and browsing Nature Protocols. In addition, users of Nature Protocols will be able to comment on these protocols. A general explanation of the relationships between Nature titles can be found here.
Publishing Policy
The Nature journals, including Nature Protocols, share a number of common policies including the following:
- Use of experimental animals and human subjects
- Competing Financial Interests
- Availability of materials and data
- Guide for digital images
- Gene nomenclature
- Security concerns
- Refutations and complaints
- Corrections
Further details of the standard policies can be found here. As these policies were developed for journals publishing primary research they have been adapted for Nature Protocols; specific details of how these relate to authors of Nature Protocols can be found in the Guide to Authors.