In Nature, unpublished works such as meeting abstracts, papers in preparation, or articles under review or in press without an available preprint, should not appear in your main reference list. Instead, these works must be mentioned directly within the text of your manuscript.
Understanding Nature's Policy on Unpublished Works
Nature journals have specific guidelines for citing works that are not yet formally published or publicly accessible through a preprint server. This policy ensures that the reference list primarily contains stable, verifiable sources, while still allowing authors to acknowledge preliminary findings or ongoing research.
When to Include Unpublished Works In Your Text
This specific citation method applies to the following types of unpublished material:
- Unpublished meeting abstracts: Summaries of presentations at conferences that have not been formally published as part of proceedings or in a journal.
- Papers in preparation: Manuscripts that are currently being written and have not yet been submitted to a journal.
- Papers under review: Manuscripts that have been submitted to a journal and are currently undergoing the peer-review process.
- Papers in press without an available preprint: Articles that have been accepted for publication and are awaiting formal publication, but where no version is publicly available (e.g., on a preprint server like bioRxiv or arXiv).
Formatting Guidelines for In-Text Citations
When mentioning these unpublished works in your text, you must include a list of the authors associated with that work. The specific format for author names depends on whether any of those authors are also co-authors of the paper you are currently writing.
Key Formatting Rules:
- Mention in the Text: Integrate the information directly into the relevant sentence or paragraph.
- List Authors: Provide the names of the authors of the unpublished work.
- Full Names: Use the full first name (or initial) and last name for authors of the unpublished work who are not co-authors of your current manuscript.
- Initials Only: Use only the initials for authors of the unpublished work who are also co-authors of your current manuscript.
- Specify Status: Clearly indicate the unpublished status (e.g., "unpublished data," "personal communication," "unpublished results").
Examples:
- Scenario 1: None of the unpublished work's authors are co-authors of your current paper.
- Example: "Further analysis supports these findings (J. Smith, A. Jones, and R. Green, unpublished data)."
- Scenario 2: One or more of the unpublished work's authors are also co-authors of your current paper.
- If your current paper is authored by M. Doe, S. Lee, and A. Khan, and the unpublished work is by M. Doe, J. White, and C. Brown:
- Example: "Preliminary results suggest a similar trend (M.D., J. White, and C. Brown, unpublished results)."
- Explanation: "M.D." is used for M. Doe because they are a co-author of the current paper. J. White and C. Brown are not co-authors, so their full names are used.
- Scenario 3: For ongoing discussions or direct communications.
- Example: "This is consistent with recent observations (P. Jones, personal communication)."
Summary Table: Citing Unpublished Works in Nature
| Aspect | Guideline | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Within the main text, not in the reference list. | "...as indicated by preliminary studies (J. Smith et al., unpublished data)." |
| Content | List authors of the unpublished work. | J. Smith, A. Jones, R. Green |
| Author Names | Full name (or initial + last name) for non-co-authors. | J. Smith, A. Jones |
| Initials only for authors who are also co-authors of your current paper. | M.D. (if M. Doe is a co-author of the current paper) | |
| Status | Clearly state the unpublished nature. | "unpublished data," "unpublished results," "personal communication," "manuscript in preparation," "under review," "in press (no preprint)" |
Why This Approach?
Nature's policy prioritizes the verifiability and accessibility of cited works. By distinguishing between formally published, peer-reviewed sources and preliminary data or ongoing work, the journal maintains the integrity of its reference lists. However, it still allows authors to acknowledge all relevant contributions and ensure proper credit is given to researchers for their work, even before formal publication.
