Other Publishing Pitfalls - Responsible Conduct of Research - Authorship - Library Services at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Duplicate Publication and Salami Science

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal is considered unethical.

• Does not reflect the author’s true choice and could affect the impact of research findings

• Burdens the editorial and peer-review process

• Acceptance by two or more journals could create copyright disputes

Inappropriate practices to maximize the number of papers.

• “Salami Science” – publishing results in “slices” – splitting data sets

• “Least publishable unit” – smallest amount of data that can be published (Notes, Short Communications, Preliminary Reports)

Why it is unethical? – difficult to evaluate; inappropriate emphasis to one work; strain on peer review process

Other Concerns

• Is conflict of interest properly noted in the manuscript?

• Subjects protection in research – many journals require registration in clinical trials registry – ClinicalTrials.gov

• National Security/Biosecurity – (US Center for Strategic International Studies & US National Academies of Science) certain scientific information should not be published because of its risk of use by terrorists – dual-use research of concern (DURC)

• Are cell lines appropriately identified? Unauthenticated cell line information must not be published.