Corrections & Contact

Our rule is to correct errors in public. When a number, a citation or a grade on this site turns out to be wrong, we fix the page and log the change with its date and reason. We do not quietly overwrite text. Science corrects itself the same way: the 2019 estimate by Cox and colleagues of microplastic intake through food, drink and air¹ carries a formal correction notice, published by its journal on 17 August 2020².

What counts as an error

Report anything on the site that a source, or a check of our own reasoning, shows is wrong or out of date:

• a wrong number, unit or scope (where, when, which size class, which method);
• an arithmetic, unit-conversion or transcription error, or a misread table or figure;
• a citation that does not say what we say it says, or points to the wrong paper;
• a finding that newer peer-reviewed work has overtaken;
• an evidence level that does not fit the evidence already cited, under the rubric on Evidence levels;
• a missing or wrong image credit or license;
• a broken link, or a part of a page you cannot read or use.

A disagreement with a grade counts as a report when it points to evidence or to the step where we applied the rubric wrongly. A preference without either is welcome, but it will not change a grade.

How to report one

Write to {{CONTACT_EMAIL}}. What we do with your address and message is explained in our Privacy statement.

A report we can act on quickly has three parts:

1. The page. Its address (URL), or the menu item and section heading.
2. The sentence. Copy the exact sentence, number or caption you think is wrong.
3. The evidence. A DOI, an official link or a full reference that shows the error, with the page, table or figure in it. For an error in our reasoning, such as arithmetic, units or the rubric, explain the step that is wrong; no new source is needed. For a broken link, the page and what happened are enough.

Tell us if you are an author of the cited work or have another connection to it. That does not disqualify a report; it helps us read it fairly. Say whether you would like to be credited by name in the log.

How your address and message are stored, for how long, and who reads them is set out in the Privacy statement; the retention period and the hosting provider are still marked there as owner decisions.

What happens next

1. Acknowledgement. We confirm that your report has arrived. The planned target for this reply is {{RESPONSE_DAYS}} days.
2. Check. We read the source you sent and the sources the page cites, redo any calculation in question, and look for newer work on the same point.
3. Decision. We decide whether the page needs a correction, an addition, a retraction of a passage, or no change. We tell you which, and why.
4. Publication. If the page changes, the change enters the corrections log and the page shows its new update date.

Our categories follow the practice of scientific publishing. Guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) tells editors to consider retraction when there is clear evidence that findings are unreliable, through misconduct or honest error. It says a correction may be best when only a small part of an otherwise reliable article is flawed^3,4.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) asks journals to post a new version that lists the dates and details of the changes, and to archive earlier versions⁵. We apply the same categories to web pages. A public archive of earlier page versions is planned; until it exists, each log entry keeps the old text.

The corrections log

Every change that alters a fact, a number, a source or a grade gets one log entry. Typos and layout fixes do not. Each entry has six fields:

• date: the day the corrected page went live;
• record: the page or item that changed;
• version: the version number of that record after the change;
• old URL: the public address before the change, so earlier citations can be traced;
• what and why: the old text, the new text and the reason, with the source;
• type: correction (something was wrong), addition (something was missing), or retraction (a passage was withdrawn).

A retracted passage stays in its log entry with the old text, so readers who cited it can see what happened.

No corrections recorded yet. Entries will be listed here, newest first, from the site's first public release.

Example, not a real correction. The values below are invented to show the format.

Other contact

For general questions about the site, write to {{CONTACT_EMAIL}}. Image owners who want to check or change a credit can use the same address; credits and licenses are listed on Picture Credits. Researchers who would like to review a page or contribute data are welcome to write. Our editorial process is described on How We Work, and our source rules on Methods & Sources.

What we cannot help with

This site reports research. It is not a clinic, a laboratory or a law office.

• No medical advice. We cannot interpret symptoms, test results or personal exposure, or refer you to testing services. Please ask a physician.
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• No legal advice. Our policy pages describe rules as written; for what they mean in your case, ask a qualified lawyer.