Below is an overview of errata, small errors found in a published article or issue that need correction. This page includes general information relating to our policies in dealing with errata and the procedure we send to editors when errata need to be published.

Errata are production errors found in a published article or issue (including article or issue metadata).

Errata correct small errors that don't change the overall conclusion or outcome of a paper. This refers to retractions, a procedure issued when errors invalidate the paper's findings. Thus, the entire paper must be retracted so the incorrect findings do not persist.

All errors do not require an erratum to be issued. However, this is a judgment that the Pitt Open Library Publishing staff makes. Here are our guidelines for what errors definitely require errata to be published:

• Changes to the metadata of an article (i.e., wrong author name/initials, incorrect word in title, missing or added keywords)
  • Even if the metadata is correct in the PDF of the article, an errata must be issued to note the changes made to the website metadata that got deposited to Crossref and other indexing services once it was published.
• Something is significantly wrong in the text that impacts interpretation
  • a line on a chart is so thin that it doesn't render in the PDF
  • a reference was included in the text but not in the bibliography
  • a reference in the bibliography was listed under the wrong author
  • a footnote was so long that part of the text spilled off the page
  • the word "there" was misspelled as "their," impacting the interpretation of the sentence

Here are our guidelines for what errors do not require formal errata:

• An author's name/pronoun changes
• Errors in the PDF that are actually correct in the metadata, discovered within hours of publication
  • i.e., an author initial was omitted from the PDF but appeared in the metadata
    • This is because the metadata deposit with Crossref is still correct, as the PDF doesn't get deposited. It's only linked. Users will still see the correct PDF.
• Small grammatical typos such as erroneous commas or small typos in the text that don't impact the interpretation of a sentence, discovered within a reasonable time period after publishing
  • i.e., the word "th" appeared and was clearly supposed to be "the"

If it's determined that an erratum is not necessary, follow these steps to correct the error:

1. Prepare a corrected PDF
2. In the article's submission page in OJS, click "Create New Version"
3. In "Galleys" tab, upload the corrected PDF in place of the current file in Version 2

Once you've uploaded the new file, the POLP team will affirm that everything is done correctly. We'll publish Version 2, the correct version, and unpublish Version 1.

(Note: Because no formal erratum is needed, it is okay to unpublish the first version of the submission. This makes the change to the minor error seamless.)

Publishing an erratum will require you to prepare, at most, three documents: a standalone erratum, an erratum to be published as a supplemental file to the article, and the corrected article text. (If the erratum is a case where the PDF is actually correct, you obviously won't need to update the article text.) The POLP team will send you an email with the procedure for preparing these documents and uploading them to OJS once the need for an erratum is brought up. Here is this procedure for your reference:

Step One: Create a new submission in OJS

1. Create a new issue (your next issue) in the Future Issues tab. If your next issue is already created, skip this step.
2. Create a new submission---the erratum---in OJS and assign it to the new issue.
3. In the Identifiers tab, assign a new unique DOI to the erratum.

Note: It may be helpful to create a journal section titled "Errata" to have these notices separate from your regularly published articles.

Step Two: Create the standalone erratum document

1. Name the file accordingly and use the Word design template that you use for your regular articles.
2. Include this information in the erratum document, formatted in the style of your template:
   • Title​​​​​​: Erratum to: <full citation of original article being corrected>
   • Author: Typically, this is either the editorial team or an original author. If you brought the error to us, the editor in chief is listed as the author. If an author brought up the error, the author's name will be here.
   • Abstract: Brief description of the correction being made and the DOI of the original article
   • Body text: Description and details of the correction. If the correction was made on a particular page, it should be noted. If something was misspelled throughout or there is consistent error, then a summary of the issue and the change made is acceptable.
   • Link to full-text original article: Link live DOI of the original article here
3. Add the new unique DOI to the corresponding place in your document and export it to a PDF.
4. Label the document as the standalone erratum

Note: You will need this Word document to create the supplemental erratum file.

Step Three: Create the supplemental file erratum

This is the document that is going to be uploaded alongside the original article and its corrected PDF (if applicable).

1. Open the same Word document as the standalone erratum.
2. Replace the DOI with the original article's DOI.
3. Export this document as a PDF and label it as the supplemental file erratum.

Step Four: Update the original article

Only follow this step if there are errors that need to be corrected in the PDF of the article.

1. Make the changes to the article PDF that are described in the erratum.
2. Add the following blurb after the abstract of the original article:
   • "This is a correction to the original article. For information about the changes made, please see the erratum linked as a supplemental file on the article's landing page. The information will also be available at [DOI link for standalone erratum document] in [forthcoming issue]."
3. Export this document to a PDF and label it as Version 2 of the article.

Step Five: Upload the files

1. In OJS, under the original article's Publication tab, click "Create a New Version."
2. In Galleys, click "Change File" and upload the corrected article text PDF to Version 2. (Again, disregard this step if the existing PDF is already correct.)
3. Add the supplemental file erratum PDF to this Version 2 of the article by clicking "Add Galley." Select the item type "Other" and label it "Erratum."
4. Go to the new issue you created and open the submission you created for the standalone erratum notice.
5. In Galleys, upload the standalone erratum PDF.

Step Six: Communicate with POLP staff

1. Email POLP staff once the above steps are completed.
2. We will confirm that everything is correct and let you know if there are any changes that need to be made.
3. We will publish Version 2 of the article. Those changes, along with the supplemental erratum file, will be immediately visible on the original article's landing page.

If your journal publishes as you go, we will publish the standalone erratum notice on your timeline, when your next issue is ready to be opened up. Again, the erratum and the changes to the article will still be visible on the article itself.

If your journal publishes full-issue, we will schedule the erratum document for publication in the next issue.