An original research article was published in a journal in 2000. This is a quarterly, non-indexed journal. The abstract is available on a national indexation website.
The same article with a slight change in the title was published in our journal in April 2002. Ours is a monthly journal which has been indexed in Medline since 1975.
Both articles appear the same, with the study of 190 inpatients, and both have similar wordings. The authors and the order of their names are the same. The authors were affiliated to a reputable teaching medical institution. However, with the passage of 9 years, all of the authors have dispersed and some have left the country. Their contact numbers and email addresses are not available.
As the duplicate publication occurred in our journal, we feel we should take the necessary action. According to COPE guidelines, the authors should be approached for an explanation. This is difficult as no contacts are available.
We would appreciate suggestions from the Forum as to what steps should be taken for this misconduct detected after a lapse of 9 years.
If it is impossible to contact the authors, the advice from the Forum was to contact the institution and inform them of the authors’ behaviour and ask them to investigate. If it is a clear case of duplicate publication, there is no need to have the authors’ permission to publish a notice of duplication. So if the editor is convinced that this is a case of duplicate publication, the advice was to publish a notice of duplication publication.
The email address of the corresponding author was obtained from the internet. After having success with a test mail, a letter was sent with the proof of duplicate publication. (The scanned copies of both articles were mailed as attachments.) An immediate reply was received which was discussed in our editorial board meeting in which we agreed it was not convincing.
The author apologised for any perceived misconduct but stated that as the other journal was not an indexed journal, he believed that this submission was not a bar to subsequent submissions to an indexed journal.
Having discussed the case with the COPE Forum and not being convinced by the author’s reply we took a decision to retract the article on the grounds of duplicate publication. The retraction notice was published in the May 2010 issue of our journal.
A detailed reply was sent to the author, specially highlighting the fact that ignorance cannot always be forgiven.
The institution was also informed and the addresses of the co-authors were requested. The authorities have not responded favourably.