Amendments

Does your amendment need a new citation?


Amendments can be published with or without a new citation, depending on the extent of changes to the latest published version. 

In general, a new citation is required for all changes other than minor text or formatting errors that do not impact the data or review findings or interpretation.

Check the guidance in the EPPR carefully to determine if your amendment needs a new citation. 

Authors' Declarations of interest and License for publication forms are also required for an amendment with new citation. 

Amendment with no new citation

From May 2023 all amendments with no new citation will be published by Cochrane Support - other than for Living systematic reviews. See Living systematic reviews.

To request an amendment with no new citation, please email support@cochrane.org with the following information:

  • Review title 
  • Manuscript number of previous published version in Editorial Manager (if applicable) 
  • Reason an amendment is required 
  • Have all requisite changes been made in RevMan Web for this amendment (including adding an 'Amended' What’s New event)?
  • Are there any deadlines associated with publication of this amendment?

Amendment with new citation

From 5 January 2024 the option to ‘Initiate Production’ will be available on the Central Editorial Service EM site only. Contact support@cochrane.org if you need to publish an amendment after this date.

Invite authors to submit amended version

  1. Locate the published protocol or review in Submissions with Final Disposition > Accept. If you cannot locate the previous published version of the review you wish to amend in Editorial Manager, please contact support@cochrane.org for assistance.
  2. Solicit commentary. 
  3. Pre-Select Article Type for Invited Submissions generated from this Submission select article type Amendment
  4. Invite Author from the Action menu and search for the Corresponding Author. 
  5. Invite the selected author to submit, copying in the rest of the team to the assignment email. In the assignment email, describe any changes the authors need to make to the previous published version. If you are making changes on the authors' behalf, let the authors know they should expect automated notifications regarding submission, Declarations of interest and Licence for publication forms.
  6. If you need the authors to make changes to the review, set the review to Authoring phase in Archie.
  7. Add relevant What's New Events in RevMan (if these are not added before submission, Validation errors will prevent the authors submitting). You should add two What's New events:
    1. Amended
    2. New citation (conclusions changed or not changed, as applicable) - see Assigning What’s New events to Cochrane Reviews
  8. Wait for the Corresponding Author to submit the revised version to EM. You may proxy as Corresponding Author to submit the revised version, if you prefer.
  9. All authors must be added to the submission to ensure the correct notifications are triggered for Declarations of interest and License for Publication forms.

Request Declarations of interest

  1. When the submission comes in, use the Initiate CoI Disclosure Retrieval link on the Details screen to ask the authors to declare relevant interests in Convey. 
  2. Await author submission of CoI disclosures; all authors must disclose before moving to the next step. 
  3. Evaluate the CoI disclosures and update the Declarations of Interest section in RevMan Web as needed.

Select License for publication and move to production 

  1. Locate the submission in Archie and view the History to confirm the License type for the previous published version.  
  2. Open the submission Details in Editorial Manager and check the License for publication field. Select the same licence type as for the previous published version. 
  3. If you would like the authors to make further revisions, submit Editor's Decision and wait for the authors to resubmit.
  4. When the final version is ready, Submit Editor's Decision > Accept and follow the process to Initiate Production. 
  5. Specify in the Production Notes 'Amendment due to XXX (reason for amendment). No copy edit required.'
  6. The submission will then follow the production process without copy editing or proofreading. 
  7. The submission will publish when authors have submitted all License for publication forms. 
  8. On publication, the amended status will show on the Cochrane Library.