Post-publication corrections to journal articles
If you notice an error in your published article, several courses of action are available:
- A corrigendum
- should be published when you (the author) have made an error in your article
- An erratum
- should be published when we (IOP Publishing) have made an error in your article
- A post-publication change to the original article
- can only be made where the error affects the discoverability, visibility and citability of the article. For example, corrections can be made to author names, titles and abstracts, or changes to affiliations, footnotes and/or acknowledgments in order to meet the requirements of a funding body, or those related to legal issues. Please note, IOP Publishing has a specific policy relating to name changes, which includes instructions on how to make a request. Read the policy here.
In the case of a corrigendum or erratum, the PDF of the correction article will be attached to the online version of the original article, and a link created between the corrigendum/erratum article and the original article to make readers and other users/systems aware of the correction.
When submitting a corrigendum, the article title should be in the following format: “Corrigendum: “original article title” (“original article reference”)”
If a post-publication change is made, the online version of the article will be replaced and a dated note added to highlight the amendment that was made. Please note that in some cases it will not be possible to also correct any print versions.
Please contact us in the first instance and we can provide guidance on the most suitable course of action. Please note you may be required to provide reasonable proof that you are the author of the article. The majority of post publication changes require agreement from all co-authors to proceed.
In cases where serious errors are identified, we may publish a retraction or expression of concern:
- A retraction
- should be published as a way to correct the scientific record by bringing fundamental flaws/errors in a paper to the attention of the readership. They are usually reserved for cases where there is clear evidence the findings are unreliable due to misconduct or honest error. When articles are retracted they are not removed from IOPScience, instead they are retained with a clear notice of retraction and bibliographic databases are notified, as per COPE guidelines.
- An expression of concern
- should be issued when concerns about publications have not been conclusively proven but are sufficiently serious to warrant warning potential readers.