Form letter D: To other journal (double publication)

Form letters are examples of appropriate letters for various situations. Please find below the text of Form letter D: To other journal (double publication). You can copy this text and adjust it to your needs.

This form letter is used in the following decision tree:

3. Multiple, duplicate, concurrent publication/Simultaneous submission

Form letter D: To other journal (double publication)

[letterhead of the journal editorial office, editor’s general contact information or the Elsevier publishing staff]

[date]

Dear [editor/publishing staff member], I am the editor [publisher] of the journal [title] [published by Elsevier]. We have been advised [by one of our authors/readers] that apparently a paper published in our journal was [subsequently/previously] published in an almost identical form in your journal [title]. The version as published in our journal was:

[insert title, authors, other publication information]

Abstract

[abstract] The version as published in your journal was

[insert title, authors, other publication information]

Abstract

[abstract]

[Although I do not have access to the full-text version of your article,] the similarities [in the abstracts] are striking, and the person who advised us of this situation says the full papers are almost identical. [You will see by the accepted dates that our version precedes yours by (amount of time).]

We have written to the corresponding author identified for the paper as published in our journal and asked the author to respond shortly, and we will keep you informed of any response we receive.

If we collectively decide that this is a case of duplicate publication, we will need to determine which version of the paper should remain public and noted as the “version of record” and which paper should be retracted, in accordance with policies and procedures governing academic publication. [As noted, our paper was published first and our proposal would be that it remain the “version of record” with the version published in your journal retracted.]

We hope you are in agreement with this course of action and please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely yours,

[editor's name or publishing contact’s name]

[editor-in-chief or publisher]