Originality, Prior Publication, Preprints, and Duplicate Submission Policy

Last Updated: October 2026

Purpose and Scope

ETFLIN is committed to publishing original scholarly contributions and maintaining the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the academic record. This policy establishes the requirements for manuscript originality, prior dissemination, preprint posting, simultaneous submission, and the reuse of previously published research.

The policy applies to all manuscript types considered by ETFLIN journals, including original research articles, review articles, short communications, case reports, and other scholarly contributions.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions comply with this policy and for disclosing any previous dissemination, publication, submission, or related work that could affect the assessment of originality. These requirements apply regardless of whether the earlier material was published in a journal, conference proceeding, institutional repository, preprint server, book, or another publicly accessible platform.

This policy should be read together with ETFLIN's Ethics & Consent Policy, Citation Policy, and Copyright and License Policy.

Originality and Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts submitted to ETFLIN must make a sufficiently original scholarly contribution and must not constitute an undisclosed duplicate of work that has already been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere.

A manuscript submitted to an ETFLIN journal must not simultaneously be under editorial consideration at another journal or publication venue. Authors must wait until the manuscript has been formally withdrawn from the original journal before submitting it elsewhere. Where applicable, authors should obtain confirmation that the withdrawal has been completed.

This restriction does not prohibit posting an eligible preprint, depositing a thesis or dissertation in an academic repository, or presenting preliminary findings at a conference, provided that the relevant disclosure requirements are met and the circumstances comply with this policy.

Submitting substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously, or submitting an already published work as though it were a new and original contribution, constitutes a breach of publication ethics. Such practices waste editorial and reviewer resources and may compromise the integrity of the scholarly record. ETFLIN follows the relevant principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing suspected concurrent or duplicate submissions.

Prior Dissemination and Previous Publications

Prior dissemination does not automatically disqualify a manuscript. However, authors must distinguish between the public sharing of preliminary research and the formal publication of substantially the same scholarly contribution.

The following forms of prior dissemination may be acceptable, subject to appropriate disclosure and editorial assessment:

• Preprints: Manuscripts made publicly available before formal journal publication, as described in the Preprints section below.

• Theses and dissertations: Academic theses or dissertations deposited in institutional repositories or university archives, provided that the submitted manuscript represents a legitimate scholarly article and its relationship to the earlier work is disclosed.

• Conference abstracts and presentations: Abstracts, posters, oral presentations, and similar preliminary communications that do not amount to the prior publication of substantially the same full-length article.

• Research reports and repositories: Publicly accessible reports, protocols, or other research outputs, provided that their relationship to the submitted manuscript is transparent and the applicable rights and disclosure requirements are satisfied.

The publication of a full conference paper in formal proceedings, a book chapter, or another scholarly publication requires closer assessment. Authors must disclose the earlier work and explain the differences between it and the manuscript submitted to ETFLIN. A substantially revised manuscript may be considered when it offers a meaningful new contribution, appropriately acknowledges the earlier publication, and satisfies any applicable permission requirements.

Prior publication must not be concealed simply because the earlier material appeared in a different language, publication format, journal, or repository. Authors should disclose relevant earlier versions even when they believe that those versions are not equivalent to the current submission.

ETFLIN reserves the right to determine whether prior dissemination is compatible with consideration for publication. Disclosure alone does not guarantee acceptance.

Preprints

ETFLIN permits the submission of manuscripts that have previously been posted on recognized preprint servers or comparable public repositories. A preprint is a version of a scholarly manuscript made publicly available before formal journal publication, generally before completion of the journal peer-review process.

Posting an eligible preprint does not, by itself, constitute prior journal publication or violate the prohibition on simultaneous journal submission. Authors may post or maintain a preprint while a manuscript is under consideration by ETFLIN, subject to the journal's applicable procedures and the requirements of this policy.

At submission, authors must disclose whether a preprint exists and provide its persistent identifier or public URL, where available. The preprint should be identified clearly, and its relationship to the submitted manuscript must be transparent. Authors must disclose any substantive differences between the preprint and the submitted version when those differences are relevant to editorial assessment.

Authors should not misrepresent a preprint as a peer-reviewed or formally published article. If a manuscript is subsequently published by ETFLIN, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record, where the platform allows, with a clear citation and link to the final published article.

Preprint posting does not remove the authors' responsibility to comply with the journal's peer-review procedures. Authors should also be aware that publicly available preprints may make author identities or manuscript content discoverable during a review process intended to be anonymous. ETFLIN will apply its peer-review procedures in accordance with the journal's applicable policy.

The rights and permitted distribution of preprints, accepted manuscripts, and published articles are governed by the relevant terms described in ETFLIN's Copyright and License Policy and any applicable third-party rights or platform terms.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Duplicate or redundant publication occurs when the same or substantially similar scholarly content is published more than once without a transparent and legitimate justification. It may involve the reuse of an entire article, substantial portions of previously published text, substantially identical results, or overlapping analyses presented as separate original contributions without adequate disclosure.

ETFLIN does not permit authors to submit or publish substantially the same work as multiple original articles in a manner that misrepresents the novelty, independence, or scope of the research.

Examples of potentially problematic practices include:

• Republishing an article, or a substantially equivalent version of it, without clearly identifying and referencing the original publication.

• Translating a previously published article and submitting it as a new original contribution without disclosure and the necessary authorization.

• Dividing one coherent set of findings into multiple manuscripts primarily to increase publication output, without sufficient scientific justification or distinct contributions.

• Reusing substantial portions of previously published results, tables, figures, analyses, or text while failing to disclose the overlap.

• Presenting substantially overlapping publications as independent evidence in a way that could mislead readers, reviewers, or subsequent evidence syntheses.

Reuse of a dataset or research cohort does not automatically constitute duplicate publication. Multiple articles based on the same dataset may be justified when they address genuinely distinct research questions or provide separate, meaningful analyses. In such cases, authors must disclose related publications and manuscripts, cite the relevant work, explain the relationship between the studies, and demonstrate the distinct contribution of each manuscript.

The assessment of redundancy will consider the nature and extent of the overlap, the research questions addressed, the differences in methods or analyses, the transparency of the disclosure, and the contribution made by the submitted manuscript.

Disclosure of Related Work

At submission, authors must disclose any published, accepted, submitted, or publicly available work that overlaps substantially with the manuscript under consideration.

Where relevant, authors should provide the editorial office with copies of related publications, submitted manuscripts, conference papers, preprints, or other materials needed to assess the extent of overlap. Authors must identify the relationship between these materials and the submitted manuscript and explain what new or distinct scholarly contribution the submission provides.

Disclosures should be made through the designated submission fields or in a cover letter, as applicable. Authors should not rely solely on the presence of citations in the reference list to communicate substantial overlap.

All listed authors are expected to be aware of the manuscript's publication history and to ensure that relevant information is disclosed accurately. Failure to disclose related work may affect the editorial assessment even when the overlapping material was produced by some or all of the same authors.

Editorial Assessment and Screening

ETFLIN may assess originality and publication history through editorial review, similarity-detection tools, searches of published literature, checks of publicly available preprints and repositories, and examination of related works supplied by the authors.

Similarity reports are screening tools and must be interpreted in context. A similarity score alone does not establish plagiarism or duplicate publication. Editorial assessment will consider the location, nature, extent, attribution, and significance of the overlap, together with any explanation provided by the authors. Authors must also comply with the applicable requirements in the Ethics & Consent Policy.

When a potential concern is identified, ETFLIN may request explanations, copies of related works, or other relevant documentation. Editorial consideration may be paused while the matter is assessed. Depending on the evidence and the circumstances, the journal may request clarification or revision, decline to consider the manuscript, or reject it if a material breach is established.

Where concerns arise after publication, ETFLIN may investigate and take appropriate action to protect the scholarly record, in accordance with its applicable publication ethics and correction procedures. Serious concerns may be referred to the relevant institution or other competent authority when justified by the evidence and circumstances.

All actions will be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the concern. Authors will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond, subject to the need to protect confidential information and preserve the integrity of an investigation.

Secondary Publication and Legitimate Exceptions

In limited circumstances, secondary publication may be considered when there is a clear scholarly or public-interest justification, the intended readership or purpose differs meaningfully from that of the original publication, and the arrangement is transparent.

Any such consideration requires prior disclosure to ETFLIN and may require approval from the relevant editors, rights holders, or original publisher, as applicable. The secondary publication must clearly identify the original work, explain the relationship between the versions, and avoid presenting previously published findings as new. Any required permissions and licensing obligations must be satisfied before publication.

Secondary publication is not an automatic entitlement and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Authors must not assume that changing the language, title, format, or intended audience alone makes a previously published article eligible as a new original submission.

Handling Suspected Violations

ETFLIN takes concerns about undisclosed prior publication, simultaneous submission, and redundant publication seriously. Concerns may be raised by editors, reviewers, authors, readers, other journals, institutions, or other parties with relevant evidence.

The editorial office will assess the available information and may request an explanation or supporting documents from the authors. Where appropriate, ETFLIN may consult the relevant journal, institution, publisher, or other competent body, in accordance with applicable confidentiality and publication ethics requirements.

Depending on the findings, possible actions may include clarification, revision, rejection, suspension of editorial processing, or appropriate post-publication action. Where a published article is affected, any correction, expression of concern, or retraction will be considered under ETFLIN's relevant editorial procedures. The response will be guided by the available evidence and the need to maintain an accurate scholarly record.

Author Responsibility and Contact

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts comply with this policy, accurately disclosing relevant publication history, and cooperating with reasonable editorial requests concerning originality and overlap.

Questions about preprints, prior dissemination, related publications, or potentially overlapping manuscripts should be directed to the editorial office at halo@etflin.com before submission whenever clarification is needed.

ETFLIN may review this policy periodically to maintain consistency with recognized publication ethics standards and developments in scholarly communication.