Responsibilities of reviewers

Reviewers are the journal’s first check on originality. In accepting an invitation to review, you agree to the following.

• The manuscript is confidential. Do not share it, and do not use its unpublished content in your own work.
• Competing interests. Decline the invitation, or tell the editor, if you have collaborated with the authors recently, work at the same institution, or have any personal or financial interest in the outcome.
• Prior work. Tell the editor if relevant earlier work is not cited, if the novelty of the work is overstated, or if compounds, methods or results described as new have been reported before. Give the references.
• Tell the editor if you recognise text, data, spectra or figures from another publication, including the authors’ own.
• Data concerns. Tell the editor in confidence if data or images appear to be fabricated, duplicated or manipulated. Do not contact the authors or investigate yourself.
• After publication. If you later become aware of a problem with a published article you reviewed, follow the Publication Ethics and Post-Publication Policy.