Novelty of your work
Novelty of your work
The aim of publications is to make new research outcomes known. That is why researchers are expected to publish their research in a timely manner, and not to withhold research results. Authors also have to be aware, that apart from a few exceptions, the same work should not be published multiple times. Exceptions to this good practice include the use of preprints and subsequent formal publication in a journal discussed earlier in this module, the publication of important content in a number of journals to reach a bigger audience, or translations of the work. For instance, new insights in the 19th-century history of Belgium, can first be published in an international journal in English and later be translated to be published in a local historical journal in Flemish as long as both journals are informed, have agreed and the later pubblication refers to the firs. Authors should always be transparent and honest regarding the novelty of their work.
Below you can find some illustrations of unacceptable and questionable practices related to the novelty of the work.
Duplicate submission
A group of authors wants to increase the chance of having their work accepted in a journal by submitting it to 2 different journals at the same time. They decide to await both review processes and then withdraw the manuscript from one of the journals, thereby proceeding with the journal that has the least or easiest reviewer comments. This behavior is called ‘duplicate submission’ and is considered as an unacceptable research practice. Duplicate submission leads to a waste in resources (time and money) as two journals and twice the number of reviewers have to spend time reviewing the work. This is why many journals nowadays request a confirmation that the work is novel and not under consideration elsewhere.
Some guidelines:
- Do not submit a manuscript to 2 or more journals at the same time.
- After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, authors can in principle no longer withdraw their study.
- When a journal decides that a manuscript can only be considered after a revision, this does not automatically mean that the study can be submitted to a second journal. If not withdrawn, it will still be seen as under consideration by the first journal. If researchers at this point decide to submit the manuscript to a second journal (e.g. because the reviewers ask to include several additional experiments and the authors are unable to meet this request), they should first formally withdraw the manuscript from the first journal.
Duplicate publication
In case of ‘duplicate publication’, the same work is published twice (or more), either in identical or closely related form. This is unacceptable if it is intended to inflate the researcher’s CV. Similar to duplicate submission, duplicate publication can a waste of journal and reviewer resources. Journals rarely accept manuscripts that have already been published elsewhere. In some exceptional cases, duplicate publication can be acceptable. For instance, an article can be translated to reach a bigger or different audience.
Some guidelines:
- Always be transparent when aiming to republish content, either in identical or modified form by means of a letter to the editor, as a reference to the last publication, contacting both editors, etc.
- If you have maintained to the copyright of the original article, inform both the editor of the original work and the new journal. The new journal needs to be aware that the paper has already been published elsewhere and needs to agree to republish it.
- If you have transferred the copyright to the journal that first published the article, you are not entitled to republish the paper. In some cases, the editor of the original article will give you permission to republish.
- It should be made clear to the readers that an article has already been published elsewhere, at least by citing the original publication.
- If the republication is intended for a different kind of audience, it might be necessary to modify (parts of) the original article.
Duplicate publication based on conference proceedings
Case: “A paper was submitted to a Journal A and concern was raised by a reviewer that a substantial part of the paper has been previously published in two other journals.”
ICMJE guidelines: “When authors submit a manuscript reporting work that has already been reported in large part in a published article or is contained in or closely related to another paper that has been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere, the letter of submission should clearly say so and the authors should provide copies of the related material to help the editor decide how to handle the submission. This recommendation does not prevent a journal from considering a complete report that follows publication of a preliminary report, such as a letter to the editor, a preprint or an abstract or poster displayed at a scientific meeting. It also does not prevent journals from considering a paper that has been presented at a scientific meeting but was not published in full, or that is being considered for publication in proceedings or similar format. Press reports of scheduled meetings are not usually regarded as breaches of this rule, but they may be if additional data tables or figures enrich such reports. Authors should also consider how dissemination of their findings outside of scientific presentations at meetings may diminish the priority journal editors assign to their work”.