Duplicate publications and simultaneous
submissions
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Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
Introduction
Ethical research and publication practices are essential for
honest scholarly and scientific research. Most journals
today are keenly aware of this: they publish policies1-6 on
these issues and expect authors to “be aware of, and
comply with, best practice in publication ethics”5.
This article discusses two widespread and related publishing
practices that are considered unethical—duplicate
publication and simultaneous submission. It draws on
definitive international publication ethics guidelines.7-10

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
Duplicate (or redundant) publication is the publication
of a paper that is substantially similar to a published
paper by the same author, without acknowledging the
source and without obtaining the permission of the
original copyright holder.7,11,12
There may be superfluous differences between the
original and the second paper, such as a new title or a
modified abstract, but the data set and findings stay
the same.13

Why is duplicate publication a problem?
Republication of a paper without permission
and/or acknowledgment is a serious breach of
publishing ethics, for the following reasons:. Case study
1. It violates copyright as in most cases, the An author has published an article
copyright for the paper lies with the journal in a regional English-language
and not with the authors; thus, the authors journal published by his university.
are not free to republish the paper.11,12 The author then submits the paper
2. It could distort empirical evidence because for publication to a journal based
researchers studying the subject may in the US. Would this be
erroneously count the same set of results considered a case of duplicate
twice (because the results are presented in publication?
two separate papers).7As empirical studies
form the basis for policies and other Answer: Yes! The author must
medical/scientific decisions, this is a serious inform the second journal of the
problem.13 already published paper in the
3. It amounts to “self-plagiarism,” because it university journal.
involves the use material from another work,
without attribution.14

Why is duplicate publication a problem?
4. It leads to a waste of editorial and review resources.7,13
5. It denies other authors the chance to publish their work by unjustly taking up
limited/competitive journal space.13
6. It is a “sign of poor scholarship”12 and may indicate that the “study contributes only
marginally to the literature.”9

What do journals and ethical guidelines have to say about the issue?
Ethical and editorial committees7-9, 15,16and academic journals 1-3,5,6,17 explicitly instruct
authors not to submit papers or variations of papers on studies that have already
been published elsewhere.
Several journals have stringent policies that require authors to send copies of older,
related articles along with the submitted paper2,3,12 if the study findings and subjects
overlap.
Some journals are very specific and require that this be done when the overlap is
more than a certain percent.2
Others permit only a few identical sentences; previously published results or larger
portions of text taken verbatim from the author’s older publications, without
acknowledgment, are not accepted.17

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
However, republication is permitted1,7,8in
the case of specific article types. These are: Dire consequences for authors
attempting duplication publication1-
A complete paper, that follows up on a 5,7
published preliminary report (e.g., an
abstract, poster, or conference Rejection of the manuscript
presentation) without review
A paper listing guidelines prepared by A public notice in the journal
professional societies or governmental (with full citation and author
agencies, which need to be disseminated to names) if the article has already
a wide and varied readership been published
A paper that substantially re-analyses the Demand for public letter by the
study findings or re-interprets the results authors acknowledging the
for a different audience duplicate publication
A translation of the original paper Notification to the authors’
In some fields like physics, authors are employers or academic
allowed to post their papers in e-print institution
repositories (notably, at arXiv.org)

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
While these exceptions can be made, authors must
adhere to the following guidelines7,8 in these cases as
well:
Obtain permission from the copyright holders.
Get approval from the editor of the journal in which
the paper was first published and the editor of the
journal in which it will be republished.
Acknowledge that the paper has been republished
in whole or is based on a previously published paper
and provide the full citation for the primary
publication.

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
Dos and don’ts for authors7,15
Do not replicate content from any of your other published papers.
Do not offer preliminary reports about unpublished papers to the media, companies,
or other agencies, without the permission of the journal.
When quoting material from your previously published work, do not include more
than a few sentences from the older work. Also, place the text in quotation marks
and cite the source
When using a single dataset to write more than one manuscript, ensure that
a. each manuscript addresses separate and important questions
b. the manuscripts are cross-referenced
c. you inform the journal editors about this matter in a cover letter
If you have published related papers, provide details of these papers to the journal
editor at the time of submission. Include copies of these papers with the submitted
manuscript. This will ensure full transparency and will help the editor make the right
decision.

Simultaneous submission
Simultaneous submission refers to the “practice of submitting the same
manuscript to two or more journals at the same time”1 without informing
the journal editor that the manuscript has been submitted elsewhere.
It has also been termed multiple submissions or dual submission.
While duplicate publication involves the submission of a previously
published manuscript to another journal, simultaneous submission
involves the submission of a manuscript that is under consideration at
another journal.

Why is simultaneous submission a problem?
Although some researchers argue that this practice is not dishonest and is
merely a way to counter the long-drawn-out journal publication
process,18 journals consider it to be “unethical publishing behavior”1 for the
following reasons:7,9
A copyright violation or a copyright dispute could ensue, if more than one
journal decides to publish the paper.
It leads to a waste of academic and scientific resources as two (or more)
journals would spend time and money on carrying out the same production
tasks.

Why is simultaneous submission a problem?
However, in some exceptional cases, multiple submissions may be allowed,
provided the authors have notified editors of all the journals involved about the
concurrent submission. These exceptions are listed below:
When the editors of the 2 (or more) journals agree to simultaneously or
jointly publish the paper, because doing so is in the best interest of society
at large.7,15
When scholarly or scientific conferences explicitly authorize authors to
simultaneously submit papers to other meetings with overlapping
submission periods.19

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
Dos and don’ts for authors 3,9,15
Do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal.
If you wish to submit a paper that is “under consideration” at one journal, to another
journal:
a. Get written consent from your co-authors.
b. Write to the first journal editor about this, asking that the paper be withdrawn.
c. Get a formal notification from the first journal editor that has been withdrawn
from consideration.
d. Preserve this notification and present it to the second journal at the time of
submission.
If you have written 2 related papers and wish to submit them to 2 different journals:
a. Disclose the details of each paper to both journals.
b. Inform the editors that you have a similar paper under review at another journal
(even if these papers are written in different languages).
c. Enclose copies of these papers along with your submission.

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
Conclusion:
Authors must be careful not to attempt duplicate publication and simultaneous
submission. Apart from the fact that these practices are serious violations of copyright
laws and that they can dent the integrity of scientific literature, they are also viewed as
“violations of authorial integrity”17 and can reflect poorly on an author’s honesty and
scholarly abilities. We recommend, therefore, that authors study the resources listed in
the reference list below and read through relevant case studies20 so that they are able to
understand and follow ethical submission practices.

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
References
1. Elsevier. Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication.[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/intro.cws_home/ethical_guidelines.
2. BMJ Publishing Group. Scientific Misconduct. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/editorial-policies/scientific-misconduct.
3. Nature Publishing Group. Guide to Publication Policies of the Nature Journals. [Accessed: Aug 10,
2011] Available from: http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/publication.html.
4. Sage Publications. Ethics and Responsibility. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://www.sagepub.com/journalgateway/ethics.htm.
5. PloS.org. PLoS Editorial and Publishing Policies.[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://www.plosone.org/static/policies.action.
6. ACS Publications .Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research.[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011]
Available from: http://pubs.acs.org/userimages/ContentEditor/1218054468605/ethics.pdf.
7. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications.[Accessed: Aug
10, 2011] Available from: http://www.icmje.org/urm_full.pdf.
8. The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals. Good Publication Practice for
Communicating Company Sponsored Medical Research: The GPP2 Guidelines.[Accessed: Aug 10,
2011] Available from: http://gpp-guidelines.org/GPP2.pdf.

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
References
9. Council of Science Editors.CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal
Publications, 2009 Update.[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available from: www.councilscienceed-
itors.org/files/public/entire_whitepaper.pdf.
10. Committee on Publication Ethics.Code of Conduct for Journal Editors. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011]
Available
from: http://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors_Mar11.pdf.
11. Morse JM, 2007. Duplicate Publication. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10): 1307–1308.
12. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Plagiarism, Duplicate Publication, and Other
Suspected Author, Editor, or Referee Misconduct. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://www.siam.org/journals/plagiary/Plagiarism_guidelines_Mar2011.pdf.
13. Roig M. Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to
Ethical Writing. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm/plagiarism/Redundant%20and%20Duplicate.html
14. Editorial, 2009:Combating Plagiarism. Nature Photonics, 3; 237. [Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from: http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v3/n5/full/nphoton.2009.48.html.
15. World Association of Medical Editors. Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals. [Accessed:
Aug 10, 2011] Available from: http://www.wame.org/resources/publication-ethics-policies-for-
medical-journals.

Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
References
16. Committee on Publication Ethics. What to Do If You Suspect Redundant (Duplicate) Publication.
[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/01B_Redundant_Published.pdf andhttp://publicationethi
cs.org/files/u2/01A_Redundant_Submitted.pdf.
17. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Authorial Integrity in Scientific Publication.
[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available from: http://www.siam.org/journals/plagiarism.php.
18. Torgerson DJ, Adamson J, Cockayne S, Dumville Jo, Petherick E, 2005. Submission to Multiple
Journals: A Method of Reducing Time to Publication? British Medical Journal, 330(7486):305–307.
19. Association for Computing Machinery. Policy on Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submissions.
[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from: http://www.acm.org/publications/policies/sim_submissions/.
20. Elsevier. Decision Trees: Multiple, Duplicate, Concurrent Publication/Simultaneous Submission.
[Accessed: Aug 10, 2011] Available
from:http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/editorshome.editors/3_Multiple_publication.

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