Brieflands has established policies that allow the published record to be discussed, questioned and, where necessary, corrected. Every journal provides a platform for debate on its own website, publishes letters to the editor and the authors’ replies, and issues open peer review reports, expressions of concern, corrections and retraction notices.
Discussing published work
Three channels are open to readers once an article is published.
Reader feedback
Comment on a published article directly on the journal website. See the Post Publication Feedback System for Readers.
Letters and replies
Submit a Letter to the Editor. Where a letter concerns a published article, the authors are invited to reply and both are published.
Open peer review reports
Read the reports behind a decision. See Open Peer Review (OPR) and the published OPR reports.
Correcting the published record
The remedy depends on how serious the problem is. A paper that is flawed but not fatally so is corrected rather than retracted. Corrections, expressions of concern and retraction notices are free to publish and free to read.
Correction
For errors that change part of an article but leave its findings and conclusions standing. See Correction.
Expression of concern
Used when there is well-founded doubt about an article but the matter is not yet resolved. See Expressions of Concern.
Before final publication
An article that has not yet reached its version of record follows a different route. See Withdrawal vs. Retraction: Understanding the Differences.