Correcting the Literature
Although it’s rare, articles sometimes contain errors that require a formal correction of the published literature. Errors can result from a seemingly minor mistake such as a typographical error, data collection or analysis error, or a serious omission. However, corrections will only be made if the error affects the scientific integrity of the article or the information carried by indexers (such as the title, author names or abstract). In such cases, publishers typically follow the following procedures.
Author-generated errors
- Depending on the publisher, a correction notice may be published as an Erratum, Correction, Corrigendum or Author’s Correction.
- Correction notices are brief articles that describe the problem being corrected; they have a unique DOI and are bidirectionally linked to the original article.
- Depending on the nature and extent of the correction, the original article may either retain the error or be fixed and republished online.
- A prominent message will be displayed on the online version of the original article to alert readers to the correction; some publishers also use CrossMark technology to alert readers to any changes.
Publisher-generated errors
- Depending on the publisher, a correction notice may be published as an Erratum, Correction, Publisher’s Note or Publisher’s Correction.
- Correction notices are brief articles that describe the problem being corrected; they have a unique DOI and are bidirectionally linked to the original article.
- Depending on the nature and extent of the correction, the original article may either retain the error or be fixed and republished online.
- A prominent message will be displayed on the online version of the original article to alert readers to the correction; some publishers also use CrossMark technology to alert readers to any changes.
Addenda
- Some publishers publish additional information about a paper as an Addendum.
- An Addendum may be published in response to a reader’s request for clarification or at the authors’ request, but only when the information is crucial to the understanding of the published article and is thus a significant omission.
- Addenda do not contradict the original article, but because they contain new information, may be peer reviewed.
Retractions
- If there are errors that render the findings invalid, or there has been unethical practice such as data fabrication, image manipulation or plagiarism, the authors and/or editors may decide to retract the affected article.
- A retraction notice will be published with a unique DOI and be bidirectionally linked to the article.
- The original article usually remains available to readers but carries a prominent statement of retraction to notify readers about the invalid work and that the paper should not be regarded as part of the scientific literature; some publishers also use CrossMark technology to alert readers to a retraction.