Corrections/Fact Checking Policy
Writers, editors, designers, and freelancers at The Scientist make every effort to get the facts behind every story right, every time. The articles we print are professionally edited. Nevertheless, mistakes do happen. In the event that we publish a story containing objective factual errors, we will correct it as soon as possible and post a dated correction, clarification, or editor’s note at the bottom of the article. If a mistake occurs in a story that first appeared in the print magazine, we will also publish a correction notice in the table of contents of the next possible issue. If you detect an error in one of our articles, please email Group Content Director Kristie Nybo, PhD at knybo@the-scientist.com. Corrections are made at the discretion of The Scientist’s editorial staff.
Preprint Policy
Preprints have become a significant form of research publication. The Scientist recognizes that preprints have not yet been vetted by the peer-review system that has long served as a foundation of scientific publishing. When reporting on such studies, we strive to communicate the nascent character of findings or insights that are contained in preprints, and our editors and writers seek and consider outside comment. We also recognize that peer-reviewed research can be flawed, and we often seek outside expert comment on published studies as well.
Comment Policy
The Scientist does not currently allow reader comments to its site. If and when this functionality is introduced to the site, the following guidelines will apply. They currently apply to comments posted to The Scientist’s Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account.
1) Comments posted to The Scientist’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram account will be moderated by a member of The Scientist’s editorial staff soon after they appear on those sites.
2) Comments posted to The Scientist’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram account are not pre-moderated, nor are they automatically deleted, or censored, and we welcome your thoughts—supportive, dissenting, critical, or otherwise. But, after evaluation by a moderator, comments will be removed from these sites immediately by The Scientist’s editorial staff if they:
a) are abusive
b) are libelous
c) contain ad hominem attacks
d) contain spam, including irrelevant links to commercial websites
e) are off-topic or excessively long
g) promote hate of any kind
h) contain excessive profanity
3) Comments will not be removed by anyone other than the editorial staff of The Scientist. Readers or other interested parties may alert the staff to a potential problem with a particular comment, but the final decision to remove that comment will be made by The Scientist’s editorial staff.
4)The Scientist reserves the right to edit, delete, move, or mark as spam any and all comments. The Scientist also has the right to block access to any one or group from commenting or from our site(s).
5) All comments posted to The Scientist’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram account are the responsibility of the commenter, not The Scientist, site administrator, contributor, editor, or author. By submitting a comment on our sites, you agree that the comment content is your own, and to hold www.the-scientist.com and all subsidiaries and representatives harmless from any and all repercussions, damages, or liability.
6) The Scientist considers comments to be part of the public record and as such will only remove or edit a comment if its content is judged to merit removal based on the criteria outlined above.
Ownership/Funding Statement
The Scientist is a US-based publication for life-science professionals and the science-curious public that is dedicated to covering a wide range of biological fields. The Scientist is owned by LabX Media Group (LMG), a leading worldwide science publishing company that delivers meaningful industry content and integrated marketing solutions for the scientific community. LMG’s brands and product solutions deliver trusted, timely, and in-depth information across print and digital products to empower our customers and advance their research. LMG is headquartered in Midland, Ontario, Canada and employs more than 135 staff across Canada, the United States, and the UK.
Funding for The Scientist comes from the sale of advertising in our print magazine and on our website. Other revenue sources include custom publishing projects such as sponsored webinars, videos, infographics, posters, ebooks, and whitepapers, handled by our Creative Services Division.