Can I submit an article to multiple journals?

Authors often submit their scientific articles to several journals at once, and do so for various reasons. Most want to insure themselves in case the journal refuses to publish, someone is running out of time. However, here you can encounter unpleasant consequences. With which, we’ll talk in today’s article.

Unfortunately, some young scientists do not think about what problems may arise when submitting a scientific article to several journals at the same time. Let’s look at it from different angles:

• Violation of ethical standards. Of course, ethical standards are not strictly prescribed anywhere, but they are quite well known to the entire scientific community. Ignoring them may cast doubt on the reputation of a researcher, which is taken into account when passing various competitions and certifications.
• Violation of the terms of the publishing agreement. Many publishers, when accepting an article for publication, sign an agreement with the author. As a rule, such an agreement contains a clause prohibiting the author from sending the manuscript of the article to other publishers. In case of violation of the terms of the contract and sending the article to different journals, we are already talking about legal liability. But the greatest harm to the author can be caused not so much by this responsibility, but by publicity and blacklisting. Then you should not be surprised when many journals refuse to publish the author without explanation.

Sometimes, by chance or their own disorganization, authors find themselves in force majeure conditions when, due to lack of publications, the defense of a dissertation is threatened. In this case, they often resort to mailing the article to different journals. At the same time, in order to avoid liability for duplication of publications, they change the title of the article, headings, rewrite the annotations, change the structure of the text and its individual fragments. Formally, such articles are different, but on the other hand, this is a violation of ethical standards.

Of course, no one is immune from the situation when an article is taken out of print at the last moment. In this case, the author has to urgently send articles to several publishers at once. And if you go to this extreme measure, keep in mind that in the event of simultaneous acceptance of an article for publication in different journals, you must withdraw the article from all other journals, carefully considering the reason for retracting the article. For example, you can specify the following: since the publisher did not respond to accepting your application for consideration within such and such a period, they were forced to send the manuscript of the article to another publisher, where it was accepted for publication.

Is it possible or not?

You should not, unless absolutely necessary, resort to such a tool as sending an article to different editions. You need to understand that publication of the HAC is a serious and difficult stage on the way to the successful defense of a dissertation and the formation of a scientific image of a scientist, and it should be approached with all responsibility. After the dissertation topic is approved, carefully study the specialized journals, if possible, take part in various scientific events held by publishers.

When is the right journal to publish an article for a graduate student, selected, in advance, without waiting for the last moment, submit the article to the editors, find out about the timing of its publication and possible postponements, constantly follow the deadlines for all stages of publication: from reviewing to sending the layout of the article. This will allow you to print the article on time and avoid unnecessary stress, and the experience gained will definitely come in handy in the future. Good luck with your publications!

You might be interested:

Publication of articles in VAK journals