Correcting the Scholarly Record

AIP takes its responsibility to maintain the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record of our content for all end users very seriously.

Changes to articles after they have been published online may only be made under the circumstances outlined below. We place great importance on the authority of articles after they have been published and our policy is based on best practice in the academic publishing community. AIP Publishing works closely with authors to make corrections to published work, however the Publisher reserves the right to make any and all corrections in order to preserve the scholarly record.

Name Change Policy for Authors

AIP Publishing recognizes that people change their name for many reasons, including gender identity, marital status, religious conversion, and others. In cases where authors wish to change their names on previously published journal articles, AIP Publishing will update and repost the article and redeliver the updated metadata to third-party indexing services.

Authors are not required to provide proof of a name change and we do not publicize when a change has been made. Therefore, our customer service, editorial and production teams will use discretion in the processing of the name change request. Authors may email help@scitation.org with any questions or concerns regarding our name change policy.

For instructions on how to submit an author name change request, as well as to access additional frequently asked questions, please click here.

Erratum

An Erratum is a statement that briefly describes a correction(s) resulting from errors or omissions. Any effects on the conclusions of the paper should be noted. The corrected article is not removed from the online journal but notice of erratum is given. The Erratum is made freely available to all readers and is linked to the corrected article.

When an erratum is published it must,

• State who is initiating the correction (the Authors or the Publisher);
• Clearly state why the article is being correction, what the correction is, and which aspects of the article is affected;
• Contain the citation of the article that is being corrected.

Publisher’s Note

A Publisher’s Note notifies readers that an article has been corrected subsequent to publication. It is issued by the Publisher and is used in cases where typographical or production errors affect the integrity of the article metadata (such as title, author list or byline, funder information) or will significantly impact the readers’ ability to comprehend the article. The original article is removed and replaced with a corrected version and a Publisher’s Note describing the correction is linked to it. Authors should be aware that an original article can only be removed and replaced with a corrected version less than one year after the original publication date. Corrections to an article which has a publication date that is older than one year will only be documented by a Publisher’s Note. The date that the correction is made is noted on the corrected article. Publisher’s Notes are freely available to all readers.

Minor errors that do not affect the integrity of the metadata or a reader’s ability to understand an article and that do not involve a scientific error or omission will be corrected at the discretion of the Publisher. In such a case, the original article is removed and replaced with a corrected version. The date the correction is made is noted on the corrected article.

Retractions

A Retraction is a notice that the paper should not be regarded as part of the scientific literature. Retractions are issued if there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, this can be as a result of misconduct or honest error; if the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper referencing, permission or justification; if the work is plagiarized; or if the work reports unethical research.

To protect the integrity of the record, the retracted article is not removed from the online journal, but notice of retraction is given, is made freely available to all readers, and is linked to the retracted article. Retractions can be published by the authors when they have discovered substantial scientific errors; in other cases, the Editors or Publisher may conclude that retraction is appropriate. In all cases, the retraction indicates the reason for the action and who is responsible for the decision. If a retraction is made without the unanimous agreement of the authors, that is also noted.

In rare and extreme cases involving legal infringement, the Publisher may redact or remove an article. Bibliographic information about the article will be retained to ensure the integrity of the scientific record.

When a retraction is published it must:

• Clearly state who is retracting the article. This could be the authors, the journal, the Publisher, or a combination.
• State the reason for the retraction that is clear and unambiguous. The aspects of the paper that are affected should be identified.
• Contain the citation of the article that is being retracted.