For a variety of reasons, some articles may require correction after publication. Such reasons can range from small errors through to more serious issues concerning ethics and copyright. In accordance with guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics, Ubiquity Press handles different kinds of error in the following ways.

• Amendment
• Correction article
• Retraction article
• Retraction & Withdrawal

To minimise requests for post-publication edits:

• Editors should ensure that the author(s) has been given an opportunity to sign off their final draft & metadata, prior to the files being sent to typesetting. It should be made clear that future edits will not be possible
• Editors should also give the final draft & metadata a thorough read through prior to sending it to typesetting to make sure that they are happy with the content
• All articles will have had their PDF proofs checked by the author or editor prior to publication. This is a final chance to catch layout errors and minor editorial issues such as typos. This is not an opportunity for wider content editing

Please contact the Journal/Editorial Manager if you believe that an article needs correcting. We reserve the right to decide what constitutes a minor or major issue and whether an amendment or correction article is necessary.

Amendment

For very minor content or metadata issues, Ubiquity Press may directly amend the article (both PDF and HTML) if the error is reported very soon after publication (normally <48h) AND the publication has not yet been sent out for indexing.

In-line amendments are strictly limited to only obvious and small mistakes. Corrections relating to the scientific content or other major metadata issues (e.g. a change in authorship) will require a formal correction to be published. Should an in-line amendment be made then a note may also be added to the publication to alert readers to this fact.

To avoid multiple versions of the same publication being circulated, should a publication have already been sent out to indexing services then in-line edits will not be permitted.

Correction Article

After an article has been published it will immediately be available to the public. Shortly after publication we will also send the publication information and files to multiple indexes to aid this dissemination. Once this indexing process has begun (usually within a day or so of publication), all corrections must be released as a separate publication, linked to the original. This ensures that the integrity and transparency of the academic record is maintained.

Where an error affects the data being presented, the arguments being made, or the conclusions of an article (but not the validity of the findings), or contains incorrect information about the article metadata (author list, title, editor, etc.), a correction article will be posted. Correction articles are used to formally correct the scientific record and to ensure errors in metadata are properly highlighted. Correction articles will appear as an article in the journal’s table of contents and will be delivered to indexes in the usual fashion. The original article will contain a note that links to the correction to alert readers. The wording of the note will be drafted by Ubiquity Press staff and/or the editor/author(s) and be approved by both the editor(s) and author(s). The editor(s) and Ubiquity Press, in collaboration with the author, will decide whether the error should be corrected by such a correction article.

Post-indexing, we won't issue Correction articles for trivial issues, such as minor formatting or typos, because when the original is not changed such a notice only highlights a minor slip that readers might not notice or can easily ignore.

Retraction

Retractions are used to remove a published paper from the scientific record. In accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance (adapted from http://publicationethics.org/files/retraction%20guidelines_0.pdf), retractions are used when:

• editors have clear evidence that the article’s findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error)
• the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper crossreferencing, permission or justification (i.e. cases of redundant/duplicate publication)
• Article publication constitutes plagiarism
• The article reports unethical research

Retraction articles will be drafted and posted in the same way as correction articles and with the editors’ approval. The original article will remain but readers will be alerted to the retraction via a note at the top of the article.

Retraction & Withdrawal

In rare circumstances, articles will need to be removed from the journal site in whole or in part. This is usually for legal reasons, such as copyright infringement or ethical concerns. The abstract and metadata of the original article will remain, but a note that links to the Retraction article will appear in place of the remaining contents.

Exceptions

In some cases legal or privacy issues may lead to exceptions to the above processes. Such examples will be dealt with on a case by case basis, with standard processes followed as much as possible.