Duplicate Publication
The journal is committed to preserving the originality, transparency, and reliability of the scientific record and does not permit duplicate, redundant, or substantially overlapping publication without appropriate disclosure and justification.
Duplicate publication occurs when a manuscript substantially overlaps with work that has already been published, without clear and visible reference to the previous publication. This may involve the reuse of the same data, study population, analyses, results, tables, figures, or conclusions in a manner that presents previously reported findings as new.
Authors must not:
- submit the same or substantially similar manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal;
- republish previously published research without clear disclosure, appropriate citation, and legitimate justification;
- divide the results of a single study into several minimally different publications solely to increase the number of publications (“salami publication”);
- conceal substantial overlap by changing the title, wording, author order, presentation of data, or other superficial elements;
- present substantially the same dataset or findings as independent new research without appropriate cross-reference and scientific justification.
At submission, authors must disclose any manuscript, article, preprint, conference material, report, dataset, or other publication that is closely related to or substantially overlaps with the submitted work. When requested, copies or links to related materials must be provided to the editors so that the degree of overlap can be evaluated.
Manuscripts based on the same dataset or study population may be considered when they address genuinely different research questions, use appropriately distinct analyses, and provide substantial additional scientific value. Such manuscripts must transparently identify and cite related publications and clearly explain how the new work differs from previous reports.
The following forms of prior dissemination are not automatically regarded as duplicate publication, provided that they are transparently disclosed and otherwise comply with journal policy:
- an abstract or poster presented at a scientific meeting;
- an appropriate preprint;
- a preliminary report followed by a substantially more complete scientific article;
- information deposited in an accepted clinical trial registry;
- regulatory or public-health reporting where applicable.
Authors must inform the journal about such prior dissemination at the time of submission.
Acceptable secondary publication, including publication in another language, may be considered only when there is a legitimate scientific or public-health reason and applicable conditions are satisfied. This normally requires the knowledge and approval of the relevant editors, respect for the priority of the primary publication, faithful representation of the original data and conclusions, clear identification of the article as a secondary publication, full citation of the primary publication, and compliance with applicable copyright or licensing requirements.
If suspected duplicate or redundant publication is identified before publication, the journal may request clarification and relevant documentation, suspend consideration of the manuscript, require appropriate disclosure or revision, or reject the submission.
If substantial undisclosed duplication is identified after publication, the journal will assess the nature and extent of the overlap. Depending on the evidence and seriousness of the case, actions may include:
- publication of a correction or notice of duplicate publication;
- an expression of concern while an investigation is ongoing;
- retraction of the duplicate or later publication where appropriate;
- notification of another journal involved;
- referral of serious or systematic concerns to the authors’ institution or other appropriate body.
The journal distinguishes between legitimate text recycling, acceptable secondary publication, honest error, and deliberate duplicate publication. Each case will be assessed individually, transparently, and proportionately in accordance with the journal’s policies on Plagiarism and Text Recycling, Research Misconduct, and Corrections and Retractions.