Living Articles are scholarly publications designed to evolve after initial publication while preserving a transparent and traceable scholarly record — particularly useful where evidence, datasets, methodologies, or standards continue to develop and a conventional static article may become outdated.

How a Living Article Works

The first approved version is published as a permanent scholarly record. Authors may subsequently propose updates when meaningful new information becomes available. Published versions should not simply be overwritten without explanation — each substantive version retains a version number, publication and revision dates, a description of significant changes, and access to relevant previous versions.

DOI and Citation Model

A Living Article may maintain a persistent identifier representing the work as a whole while individual versions are separately identifiable. Where the publishing infrastructure and DOI-registration policy support version-specific identifiers, significant versions may also receive their own persistent identifiers. Minor corrections do not necessarily require a new article version or DOI.

Peer Review of Updates

An update is not automatically accepted merely because the original article passed peer review. Material changes to results, methodology, interpretation, or conclusions may require renewed editorial assessment or peer review. Minor factual or formatting corrections may be handled through a lighter correction process.

Preservation

Previous substantive versions remain part of the scholarly record rather than disappearing when an article is updated.