Corrections after final publication are handled with the intent of protecting the integrity of the published paper and providing a clear record of any changes to the paper’s content. Corrections to a published paper may be made through one or more of the following methods:
Corrigenda
Publisher's Notes
Retractions
Corrigenda
Corrigenda are brief articles in which authors can address errors discovered in their own published AMS Journal or BAMS articles. Corrigenda are published online and in print. The original article remains unchanged as it was published and is mutually linked to the corrigendum online. The PDF version of the corrigendum is appended to the PDF version of the original article in order to correct the record and for the convenience of the reader.
A Corrigendum is used if:
- The errors occur in the body of the article
- The results and/or figures need corrections
How to submit a Corrigendum
Corrigenda should be submitted by the authors of the published paper via the AMS submission system.
Submission requirements for Corrigenda
- A submitted corrigendum must reference the original article and describe the nature of the error and its effects on the results described in the original article.
- An abstract is optional.
- The author list for a corrigendum should match the original article. If you have added an author who helped prepare the corrigendum, please include an author comment describing the added author's contributions.
- The journal's standard page charge is applied for corrigenda (see Page Charges, Waivers, and Fees).
Peer Review of Corrigenda
Corrigendum submissions will be expedited if they do not require further review by the Chief Editor or handling Editor. However, if the results in the original article are directly affected, another editorial review may be required.
Publication of Corrigenda
Once accepted by the handling Editor, corrigenda are expedited and published in an issue as soon after the original article as possible.
Publisher's Notes
Publisher’s Notes are short footnotes added to the title page of an article explaining an error and recording when the published article was updated with the correction. The Publisher’s Note will appear in the updated full text version of the published paper online and an updated PDF will also be provided for readers.
A Publisher's Note is used if the element that needs correcting is very minor, particularly if it involves elements outside the body of the article (e.g., a misspelling in an author affiliation).
Requesting Publisher's Notes
Authors of the published paper should email requests for Publisher's Notes to [email protected].
In some cases, staff may determine that the correction needs to be handled via a Corrigendum, and will guide the author to submit a Corrigendum.
There is no charge to authors for Publisher's Notes.
Retractions
Retractions are the withdrawals of published papers due to invalid results or conclusions. The full text and PDF versions of a retracted paper are removed from the journal’s online site. The retracted paper’s title, author list, abstract, and DOI remain in place along with a retraction notice indicating the dates of submission, acceptance, publication, and retraction.
Requesting a retraction
Requests for retractions should be emailed to the journal Chief Editor and Publisher ([email protected]). All authors of a paper must agree to the retraction and should be cc’d on the request email. The email should explain the reasons for the retraction request.
In cases where all authors on a paper do not agree that a retraction is needed, the journal Chief Editor and Publisher will consult with the AMS Publications Commissioner and AMS Executive Director to determine how to proceed.
At the discretion of the AMS Publications Commissioner and AMS Executive Direction, AMS may publish an ‘expression of concern’ about aspects of the conduct or integrity of a published paper if a final determination about retraction has not yet been made.
There is no charge to authors for retractions.