1. What is Crossmark?

Crossmark is a multi-publisher initiative from Crossref that provides a standardized way for readers to identify the current, reliable, and citable version of a scholarly document. It helps communicate important publication updates, including corrections, addenda, expressions of concern, retractions, and other editorial notices.

2. How Crossmark Works

When a Crossmark logo appears on APSY articles in PDF or HTML format, readers may click the logo to access the Crossmark status page. This page indicates whether the article is current or whether updates, corrections, retractions, or other notices have been issued. This process helps readers access the verified version of record and review the publication history of the article.

3. Types of Updates Covered

APSY may issue editorial updates when necessary to preserve accuracy, transparency, and integrity in the scholarly record. Updates may include:

• Corrections: Amendments to correct errors that do not invalidate the article’s main findings.
• Addenda: Additional information that clarifies or supplements the published article.
• Expressions of Concern: Editorial notices issued when serious concerns require investigation.
• Retractions: Formal withdrawal of articles due to unreliable findings, serious errors, plagiarism, ethical misconduct, or other major issues.
• Metadata Updates: Corrections to author names, affiliations, ORCID IDs, funding information, DOI metadata, or article-level information.

4. Accessing Document Updates

Readers can verify the publication status of an APSY article by selecting the Crossmark logo attached to the article. The linked record will display whether the article is current and whether any relevant updates, corrections, retractions, or editorial notices are available. This ensures that readers can rely on the most accurate and authoritative version.

5. Policy on Maintaining the Scholarly Record

APSY is committed to preserving the scholarly record permanently and transparently. Any modification to published content will be accompanied by an appropriate editorial notice where required. The journal aims to ensure that the history of each article remains traceable, accessible, and clearly communicated to readers, authors, institutions, and indexing services.

6. Editorial Responsibility and Publication Ethics

APSY handles post-publication updates in accordance with recognized principles of publication ethics, editorial accountability, transparency, and scholarly integrity. Editorial decisions related to corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions are made based on evidence, ethical standards, reviewer or editorial assessment, and the need to maintain the reliability of the academic record.

7. Benefits for Authors, Readers, and Institutions

• For Authors: Ensures that published work remains authoritative, trackable, and transparently updated when necessary.
• For Readers: Provides confidence that the article being accessed is current, accurate, and supported by editorial oversight.
• For Reviewers: Supports the integrity of peer-reviewed scholarly content after publication.
• For Institutions and Libraries: Strengthens cataloging, indexing, citation accuracy, metadata reliability, and long-term scholarly preservation.