The scientific journal PLOS ONE announced that it will publish corrections to more than a thousand articles over the next few months. David Knutson, the journal’s head of communications, explained to the Retraction Watch website that the corrections relate to spelling errors in author names and affiliations, as well as mistakes in references or data availability statements, which he classifies as “minor issues.” This type of correction was often put on hold in the last two years, with the journal choosing to prioritize other tasks.
The high number of small mistakes is the result of a weakness in its internal processes. Classified as a megajournal because it publishes thousands of open-access articles online every month, PLOS ONE has always dispensed with a step of the publication process known as “author proof,” in which the scientists who wrote the paper are given a chance to see the final version and check it for any small mistakes before it is made available to readers.
Now, the journal has decided to reevaluate this simplified process, announcing that it will establish an author proof stage in the coming months to ensure that papers are published with as few errors as possible. “For a megajournal like PLOS ONE, this is not a trivial decision given the publication volume, resources required to support this service, and the impacts of this extra step on time-to-publication,” explained David Knutson.
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