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Q: My article is published in a journal and now I wish to make an update of my grant number. What must I do?

Detailed Question -

I am an idiot and very recently I have published a paper in a journal and I wanted to surprise my supervisor about it so I kept it a secret and did not tell him until after the paper was published. To my horror, it seems that I forgot to include my grant number in the acknowledgement of the paper. First of all, I was under the impression that I receive my salary from my supervisor's grant so I do not have a grant number of my own. Now that I realize I have I am very worried about it. I have sent a mail to the journal regarding this but now I am scared the journal people will be mad at me.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thank you for approaching us with your question. We can understand how worried this must be making you. First of all, don’t panic. This was an oversight on your part, but journals understand that these mistakes can happen and generally try to accommodate corrections when possible (see also similar questions answered here and here).  

It appears that your manuscript is not at a revision stage (which would have made the process a bit easier) but has already been published. Here are some steps to consider in your case: 

  1. Follow up promptly with the journal editorial office. Explain the situation clearly—that you inadvertently left out your grant number in the acknowledgments section and need to get it added. Most journals have a process for making post-publication corrections. 
  2. Get the exact grant number/funding source details you need to add. Double check with your supervisor or institutional grants office if needed. 
  3. Offer to provide the updated acknowledgments text exactly as it should be published in the correction. This makes it easy for the journal production team. Plus, you do not want to request another round of changes! 
  4. Thank them for their understanding and willingness to publish the correction. Most journals aim to get the published record correct. 
  5. If they request any additional information or have a specific corrections process, provide what they need promptly. 

Once the correction is published, inform your supervisor and any other stakeholders that the grant information has been properly added. 

The key things are acting quickly, having the right details ready, and maintaining a polite dialogue with the journal. While not ideal, funding acknowledgment corrections are quite common in academic publishing. There is no reason for the journal staff to get angry with you!

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