Investigating the root causes of duplicate publication in research articles

Duplicate publication is the republication of an article in which a lot of important parts overlap with the published copy. This issue is nearly at the top of the list of subjects, which medical journal editors discuss. this study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the publication patterns and determining it's root causes in research articles in the Isfahan University of Medical Science and to find a solution to prevent it. In a cross sectional study, All the discovered cases of duplicate publication, which were referred to the ethics committee of the Isfahan University of Medical Science during 2005–2008 were selected to be investigated through a descriptive method. After confirmation about the case of a duplicate publication, the requisite investigation was conducted through interviews and review of the correspondence and documentaries, and then, a radical line was charted. After investigating the cases and classifying the radical causes and incidents, categorization and definition of duplicate publication are presented. Eight out of nine republished articles belonged to the first category of Baily's index (copy publication) and one was in the third category (minimum publishable unit: Salami slicing). The results of the present article indicate that, the scientific community of the country is not yet familiar with the professional principles of scientific and research affairs. According to the results of this investigation, it is recommended to take official action against duplicate publication cases, violation of copyright, and also to have strict instructions against this unethical practice.